Recover
by Pseudonym P
Summary: Elsa's left to grasp at the jagged edges her life left behind when it snapped in two, while Jack's just a guy who happened to pass by a lot. Maybe there's hope after all. / Modern, college AU, Jelsa. Rated T for mentioning things you don't want kids to ask about.
1. Chapter 1

_I would like to thank __**Nefarious Seraph 13**__, who has provided me the idea for this story. Without her, this wouldn't be possible._

_For __**J**__, who I have looked up to for the last five years—you have influenced me in ways I cannot even begin to explain. _More Than Human_ continues to be the One That Started It All, and even though whatever I make now won't be able to hold a candle to it, you push me to at least try. So, thank you. _

_Here's to trying._

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 1_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

The warning bell resounded along the hallways of the University of Burgess as a sharp but welcome trill, signaling the end of the last period for those lucky souls who had no class after six in the evening.

One of those lucky souls was Elsa.

"All right, class—that's it for today," announced the middle-aged man from the front of the room, and the once-quiet classroom erupted into a sea murmurs. "Remember to read up on cyclohexanes! There may or may not be a quiz for this next meeting. You may go."

The students rose from their seats, chairs screeching along the floorboards and conversations finally bursting to life. They filed out of the classroom with rehearsed precision, trickling out of the room one by one.

Neatly tucking away her laptop and papers from her last class, Elsa zipped up her bag and slung it over one shoulder. One of her classmates called to say goodbye and Elsa gave a polite wave of her hand in return, and followed the rest of her classmates who walked out of the room into the courtyard.

The walk to the in-campus dormitories bathed Elsa in warm afternoon sunlight. The rest of the occupants on the courtyard enjoyed the freedom that the four walls of a classroom tended to stifle, a plethora of noises and activities bringing a rainbow of students out to enjoy the remaining sun, which was slowly going down the horizon. Elsa stood off to the side on the paved walkway and tried not to bump into anyone as she walked.

Her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket, and Elsa pulled it out. Thee screen displayed a new message.

_**From:**__ Anna _

_Hey Elsa! Are u done wt class?_

Elsa swiftly typed back a reply, fingers grazing the buttons of her outdated phone. She really should get it replaced, but she honestly didn't care as long as it worked.

_**To:**__ Anna_

_Yes, I'm done. On my way back to the dormitories._

The reply was almost instantaneous.

_**From:**__ Anna _

_Ok. Don't forget to drink ur meds. :-) Imy, see u on Saturday! Ily!_

Elsa sighed. She typed back a quick _Miss and love you, too_ and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Anna had just reminded her that she was running out of her meds.

Turning on her heel, Elsa crossed the courtyard and headed in the direction of the campus bus stop.

* * *

Elsa stepped into the small drugstore in the small town of Burgess. The place was a bland white, but the shelves were filled with rows upon rows of colorful medicine bottles. She approached the counter and was greeted by a familiar friendly face.

"Hello, Tracy," Elsa greeted politely, and the brunette at the counter smiled warmly.

"Hey, Elsa! Here to pick up your meds?" Tracy asked conversationally, already walking to one of the shelves and plucking out a box. Elsa dropped by the place so many times in the past three years that every employee knew her by name, face and medication.

Elsa nodded and smile slightly. "Yes, please. Thank you."

Tracy expertly pressed buttons at the register as she rung up Elsa's purchase. The blonde kept quiet throughout the ordeal, thankful that Tracy was a kind soul that understood her predicament. She paid without a word.

"Here you go, Elsa," Tracy said amiably, handing over a brown paper sleeve with a thin box inside, which Elsa took gratefully. "Take care and come again!" Elsa nodded again and turned on her heel, walking out of the store.

She pushed open the door to the drugstore and walked out, the fresh air brought along by spring settling over her like a comfortable blanket. The sky was darkening to a rich, deep blue and the bright white lights of the shop behind her shone past the glass windows and onto the pavement of the sidewalk.

The walk to the bus station was a good ten minutes from the drugstore, so with her hands in her pockets and scarf snug around her neck, Elsa carefully pocketed her medication and hurried her way back before night could fully take over.

* * *

When Elsa walked into the room, her roommate stared at her pointedly, one hand holding a compact mirror and another one pointing a tube of lipstick in Elsa's direction. "Have you been eating my Pop Tarts?"

Elsa blinked, bemused. "Excuse me?"

The green-eyed girl sighed dramatically, waving her lipstick around. "I can't find my smores Pop Tarts."

Elsa gave a wry grin. "Maybe you finished them already."

Idina seemed to ponder upon this before shrugging. "Perhaps." Elsa shed her coat and a placed her bag and keys on her desk, and moved to her closet to change into comfortable clothes. "Where'd you come from?"

Elsa slipped off her shoes. "I had to by meds from the drugstore in town."

"You went to town? Darn, should've asked you to buy Pop Tarts."

Elsa giggled. "Next time."

"Anyway, I'm heading out tonight," Idina declared, smacking her bright red lips as she put away her make-up.

"I can see that," Elsa quipped.

Idina ignored the remark. "Will you be okay here by yourself?"

Idina was a kind and understanding person—they got along really well, which said something more about Idina than it did of Elsa. The latter nodded, a smile on her pressed lips, while Idina put on her coat.

Idina was a theater major, and was highly sociable and fun-loving. Unlike Elsa, who preferred to stay indoors and alone, Idina was almost always out and about and surrounded by people. Thankfully, Idina understood Elsa's need to be alone and away from people—especially after a really extensive talk when Idina found Elsa's packet of Xanax.

Two years of rooming together, Elsa really couldn't ask for anyone else—and to a point, it could be taken quite literally. If she lived with anyone else, she had to do the whole life-story thing again. She would have to explain her meds and what procedures to be taken if anything bad happened. And what if they weren't as nice as Idina? Elsa didn't even want to think about it.

"I will," said Elsa. "Are you buying Pop Tarts?"

Idina paused in the middle of fixing her purse. "That's brilliant. I'm gonna go get some."

"Have fun," Elsa said sincerely, and Idina just gave her a dazzling performer's smile and flipped her dark hair over her shoulder.

"I will. See you tomorrow!" And with that, she waltzed out of the room. When the door clicked, Elsa flung herself on her bed and took a deep breath. The wall clock above the door to their room read _9:18_. She picked up her phone from its spot on her nightstand and checked her to-do list.

Late February meant the beginning of midterms preparation, and Elsa sighed. Sometimes, she got sick of studying, but it's not like she had anything else to do. Maybe if she had friends—or even _acquaintances_, really—she'd lead a more interesting life. But she didn't.

Her phone started buzzing and Elsa fished it out of her pocket. The screen was dark and the name _Anna_ blinked repeatedly on the screen. Elsa pressed the green button and picked up the call.

"Hello?"

Anna's voice came through the line._"Hey, Elsa! Sorry, were you sleeping? I didn't want to call, just in case you were, so I'm sorry if you were—"_

"I wasn't sleeping, Anna, it's okay." Elsa rolled over to lie on her back. "And it's only nine. Who sleeps at nine?"

Elsa heard a sigh of relief. _"Oh, that's good. Anyway, how are you?"_

"I'm okay. Midterms season is coming up, so I have quite a bit on my hands. You?"

"_It's project-dropping season, meaning they basically just tell us when Hell's gates open up."_

Elsa snickered. "Ah, I remember that. Hated that, too."

"_Right. Oh, Elsa, I have something to tell you—I met a boy!"_

The blonde tensed. "Excuse me?"

"_I met a boy, Elsa! He's very handsome and sweet—his name is Hans, and he's in my social studies class! We're partners for a project, due in a month."_

Anna had mentioned other boys before, but never with interest. The thought of this one spending copious amounts of time with her sister made Elsa's heart race with worry. "Anna, that's—"

"_He said he couldn't imagine being partnered with anyone else! He's so sweet, Elsa. He said I was smart and pretty and we're definitely going to get an A!"_

Elsa nearly moaned with disgust. _Really? You fell for _that_?_ "Well, as long as it's for a project—"

"_I hope we become more than friends, Elsa,"_ Anna said dreamily and Elsa swallowed.

"Anna, you only _just_ met." Elsa sat up abruptly, feeling herself break out into cold sweat and trembling hands. "Don't trust him so easily! Are you really—"

"_Elsa, calm down,"_ Anna said, half-playful and half-serious, completely unaware of her sister's rapidly rising anxiety. _"I'm not saying I'm going to marry him. I just want to get to know him."_ A pause. _"And _then_ maybe marry him."_

"Anna!" cried Elsa, and her brain went ahead and threw images at her. Images of her sister crying and sobbing and downright _miserable_. Thoughts raced through Elsa's mind—Anna was probably half in love with the boy, without thinking it through; what if Anna—what if he _forces_ her sister into something she—

Warning bells were going off in Elsa's head, and her lungs felt like they were going to collapse. Anna was saying something else now, but Elsa's hands were trembling so hard that she dropped her phone. Her breaths started coming in short, hurried gasps, and she reached and pulled out the drawer to her nightstand with such a force that it was dislodged, strewing a mess on the dorm room floor. Her fingers struggled to pick up a familiarly wrinkled brown bag that flew from the drawer and landed a ways away from her bed, nails barely brushing the edges.

"_Elsa? Elsa, are you listening to me?"_

Elsa dove forward and grabbed the bag. She forced it to her face, breathing in and out as calmly as she could, curled up on the floor. Tears streamed down her face as she willed herself to relax, taking deep breaths and trying to calm her pounding chest.

"_Elsa! Elsa, answer me!"_

Elsa couldn't decipher the time—it may have been minutes, maybe hours that she was on that floor, wishing for normalcy. But after some time, she pushed herself up and sluggishly fixed her messed up drawer and put it back on her nightstand. On her bed, a messaged blinked from the screen.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_I am so sorry, Elsa :-( Please be ok. Wishing for u to get better this 11:11. I love u._

Elsa dragged her eyes to look at the wall clock, tired beyond belief. It read _11:18_.

She climbed into bed and forced herself to sleep with a tear-stained face and a heavy heart.

* * *

Idina woke her up the next morning.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, voice laced with concern. "You missed your first class." Elsa pushed herself to sit and rubbed her eyes, which were puffy from crying.

"Yeah," Elsa croaked, the words sliding thick out of her throat. "I just… had an episode."

Idina's eyes widened and she sputtered. "_Last night_?! Oh my God, are you okay? I should have been here last night, at least to even get you water or—"

Elsa shook her head and raised a hand to stop her friend. "It's okay, I handled it." Idina's face was still contorted with worry, so Elsa changed the subject after she took a moment to fully wake herself up. "What time did you get back last night?"

"Past midnight." Idina sighed and pointed to Elsa's desk. "I got you a honey donut and some decaf on my coffee run this morning." Elsa frowned.

"Decaf?" Elsa said distastefully, trying to lighten the mood. Idina rolled her eyes. The dark-haired woman crossed the room in a few strides and put on a cardigan.

"You know, I vaguely recall a lecture that brought up something about people with anxiety disorders and how they should stay away form caffeine."

"College students need caffeine to function, you know."

"But then there's you," Idina continued, rolling right over Elsa's comments, "Having chocolates and coffee, like it's a lovely day."

"It _is_ a lovely day," Elsa contested, and Idina rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean." The dark-haired girl picked up her bag and keys. "I'm gonna go ahead. My next class is in fifteen."

"What's your class?"

"Introduction to Opera," Idina sang, making Elsa chuckle. "See you later, Elsa. Oh, yeah—help yourself some Pop Tarts, just don't finish it. And cut back on the coffee!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Bye," the blonde said with a yawn. Stepping out of the room, Idina closed the door and left Elsa alone in her wake.

The wall clock showed that it was a little after ten, which meant that Elsa missed her nine AM class. Her next class was at 12, so she should start getting ready.

A thud resounded on the floor when she got off her bed, and she picked up her phone. A string of text messages awaited her, all from the same person.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Good morning Elsa! Please answer me when u get this text :-)_

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Hi Elsa! Are u ok? Pls answer :-(_

_**From:**__ Anna_

_What happened last night? Did u get hurt? I'm really sorry, I hope ur ok :-(_

_**From:**__ Anna_

_If u dont want me to talk to Hans, its ok. Just say the word and I'll do it._

Elsa sighed and replied, fingers ghosting over the buttons.

_**To:**__ Anna_

_I'm fine. And I honestly can't tell you what to do, Anna. That's entirely up to you._

The blonde girl picked up her shower necessities and marched to the bathroom, staring at the ground all the while. Unfortunately for her, her dormitory was co-ed, but she was grateful everyday that she lived on the all-girls floor—no awkward run-ins with the opposite sex.

Her shower gave her what not a wink of her sleep last night didn't—relief and relaxation. The lukewarm water was soothing against her skin, purging her of last night's distress. After a quick brush of her teeth, she marched back into her room like a walking cloud, wrapped in her fluffy white bathrobe and a towel on her head.

Still looking like a Japanese Spitz, Elsa gratefully munched on the breakfast her roommate so graciously provided for her, not for the first time. Idina really was a nice girl underneath all that sass and spunk.

Chewing thoughtfully on her doughnut, she fished her packet of Xanax out of her purse and sat down on her bed, legs crossed underneath her. She popped the foil top of one of the plastic pockets and rolled the peach-colored pill in her hands, staring at it blankly.

Elsa couldn't remember what life was like before anti-depressants. She had a vague recollection of it—everything was happier, more vibrant and colorful compared to the dull muted shades of what once was that seemed to decorate her vision.

Elsa supposed it started the moment she could divide her current life into two phases—pre-Accident and after-Accident.

Pre-Accident was a happy family of four with her, Anna, and their parents. Pre-Accident was living in Arendell in their house, with their dog Marshmallow. Pre-Accident was Elsa's friends and Anna's playmates. Pre-Accident was Mother's Day and Father's Day.

And then there was the Accident.

The Accident was a ride home from something Elsa couldn't even remember anymore. She doesn't remember much about the accident, come to think of it—just her and her parents in the car, screaming and fire and blood and helplessness and glass and pain and blood, so much blood, and then staring into the bright white lights of a hospital, pale-faced and stiff and horrified.

She slipped into shock, was what the doctors said. It took her two full days to recover, even just slightly.

Barely brushing the age of eighteen—was it a week or two before the accident that she celebrated her birthday?—she thought that her life would finally begin; college and boys and friends and all these new things that she was beyond thrilled to try. She was an adult now—she could do whatever she wanted!

But Elsa was catapulted into a nightmare. Old enough to serve as Anna's legal guardian, old enough to explain to her fourteen-year-old sister that their parents were _dead_, old enough to sign papers upon papers upon papers of things that her aunt Jennifer and uncle Chris had to explain to her.

Old enough to prepare a funeral service for her parents.

The first few months after the Accident had Elsa waking up and screaming from nightmares she couldn't remember come morning. Time and time again, she broke out into sobs without warning. It was several times worse than a nightmare; especially when she accidentally hit Anna across the face during one of her panic attacks. Elsa choked on her guilt and begged her aunt and uncle to let her see a professional.

Elsa was—and still continued to be—more than grateful for her aunt and uncle. They helped her through everything. They served as her and Anna's guardians, taking them under their wing and giving them a home and an education. They supported them—at least, Elsa promised to herself, until she could stand on her own to feet and provide for Anna.

Her aunt and uncle agreed to sign her up for sessions with a therapist but they didn't last long—at the time, she was starting college soon, and she couldn't push that back. But it was long enough for them to give her a prescription of anti-depressants and some procedures to implement if she has episodes.

Long enough to diagnose her with posttraumatic stress disorder.

When Elsa entered the University of Burgess as a freshman, the only thing she did was to lock herself up in her dorm room and study. She threw herself into her schoolwork, quickly shooting down any attempt of social interaction. The only person who ever got her to talk, really, was Idina. And that was when she found Elsa's packet of Xanax.

Elsa stared at the tiny pill blankly before snapping out of her reverie to look at the wall clock. _11:32_. She got up and snatched the cup of decaf from her desk and swallowed the pill before gulping large amounts of decaf (Elsa grimaced) coffee.

She'd better head to class before she was late.

* * *

Today was a particularly long school day, and Elsa was just glad it was over.

Slipping out of her philosophy class with practiced ease, the blonde walked the familiar route from the classrooms building to the West Library. The mid-afternoon sun was bright in the sky, and rays that escaped the covered rooftops and walls ran over her skin with comfortable warmth.

Elsa rounded the corner that would take her up the marble steps to the university library. She stopped, eyebrows raised at the yellow plastic chains wrapping around the entire front of the stairs. A giant sign hung from the closed doors of the library.

_THE LIBRARY IS CLOSED FOR REPAIR_, it read, _SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE_.

Elsa looked around—the area was deserted, except for her and a janitor close by. She immediately kept walking.

_Where to now?_ She asked, biting her lip and fidgeting. The study halls in the other UB libraries that were usually designated for group meetings were always full of students, and her dorm room had her bed. She weighed her options before pulling out her phone.

_**To:**__ Idina_

_Where else can I study in school? West is closed. Sorry for bothering you._

Elsa pressed SEND and almost instantaneously, her screen darkened flashing an _Idina_. She picked up.

"Hello?"

"_The library's closed!"_ Idina all but shouted into the phone, making Elsa wince and pull the phone away. _"They busted a pipe and a third of the place is, like, drenched."_

"Oh, really? I didn't get the memo," Elsa remarked dryly. Pun unintended. "Well, they still have the digital copies, so that'll work."

"_Try the Warren." _Idina's voice crackled through the earpiece, along with the noises of several others. Elsa guessed she was with friends.

"Excuse me?" Elsa adjusted the phone against her ear. "I can't hear you."

"_Try—wait a sec." _Several '_excuse me_'s, '_watch where you're going_'s and more than a few giggles later, Idina's voice came through much more smoothly. _"Can you hear me now?"_

Elsa nodded, and then realized that Idina couldn't see her. "Yeah, better."

"_Okay. Anyway, Try the Warren. It's like a shake shack kind of place. They have good smoothies."_

"Okay, but is there a place that offers coffee?"

Idina scoffed on the other end. _"You're really bad at this dealing with PTSD thing." _

Elsa rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Where's the Warren?"

"_It's on the second floor of the Easter Complex."_

Elsa grimaced. "But isn't that place noisy?"

"_You can try the in-campus coffee place, then. It's called Old Willam_." Elsa giggled.

"Old William?" Elsa asked incredulously. "Is there a New William?"

"_Hey—that's where I get your decaf. It's in Joyce Hall. But it's usually full."_

Elsa considered. "It's worth a shot. Thanks, Idina."

"_No problem. See you later!"_ A beep signaled the end of the conversation, and Elsa walked off in the direction of Old William. The walk was short, thankfully, and when Elsa rounded the corner—

She stopped dead in her tracks.

Old William was so full. Actually, it was _beyond_ full—it was practically bursting at the seams.

Elsa stared through the glass walls helplessly, almost cringing at the surplus of university students cramped in such a tiny space. Just looking at the amount of people made her want to curl into a ball and cry.

Deftly walking away, Elsa checked her watch. It was still early—just a little past four, so she still had time to look. She could go outside campus, but that was a twenty-minute bus ride away, and she wasn't sure if she could find anything there. Elsa paused, turning back to the more-than-crowded coffee shop.

Imagining herself trying to fit into a teensy space between any of those people made her skin scrawl and sent her heart racing. She turned away and squeezed her eyes shut, taking deep, calming breaths.

Elsa didn't spare a second thought and made her way outside the campus.

* * *

All of Elsa's aimless walking landed her into a small, cozy café with a neon sign reading _Burgess Brew_ near the wooden door. It looked very old-fashioned—brick walls, wooden furniture and yellowed lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A big wall of glass sat at the front, perpendicular to a barely occupied wooden bar lined with cushioned stools. Relaxing acoustics played overhead and the place was warmly blanketed with the smell of freshly brewed coffee. And the place wasn't full!

Elsa's insides stirred with delight.

Walking up to the counter, she settled for pointing at a chocolate cake in the glass case and an order of a warm macchiato. Picking up her purchase, she settled on the last stool nearest to the window, farthest from anyone in the establishment.

She booted up her laptop and waited for the University of Burgess Library to load, taking small comforting sips of her coffee. Her blue eyes drifted towards the late afternoon sky, taking in the light pinks and oranges and baby blues.

She observed the people that passed by, sometimes envying them for their normalcy. Elsa watched people hanging out with their friends or family, carrying boxes of treats, even the ones screaming at their phones as they walked. She envied the angry ones the most—they had an outlet to pour out all the frustration they felt.

Elsa wished she was that lucky.

She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts when a small blonde girl started knocking on the glass window in front of her. The little girl was saying something, but her voice was muffled through the glass. She looked down at the grinning child, and she gave a small smile in return.

The girl was suddenly pulled away, and she looked up to see a pale-haired boy about her age, raising a hand with his face twisted in apology. Elsa just nodded with her lips pressed together in a tight smile and watched as the smaller girl jumped up and down with her arms raised.

The boy laughed and picked up the little girl, bouncing her in his arms for a little, before flashing Elsa another apologetic grin and walking off to the pedestrian lane. Elsa watched his retreating back until he vanished into the sea of pedestrians.

Elsa turned back and found the UB Library page fully loaded.

* * *

It was nearing ten in the evening when Elsa got back to her dorm room.

"Hey," Elsa greeted when she entered their dorm room, closing the door behind her. She had one hand wrapped around a paper bag. Idina gave a wave, not taking her eyes off the screen of her laptop. "I got you a sandwich."

Idina tapped something on her keyboard. "What?"

"I got you a sandwich. Have you eaten?"

Idina shook her head and made grabby hands for the sandwich, and Elsa gingerly tossed the paper bag at her roommate. "Thanks." She took it gratefully and tapped something on her keyboard again, completely engrossed in her laptop screen once more.

After Elsa checked her phone, shed her coat and placed her things on her table, Idina yanked out her ear buds and gave a frustrated groan. "I _hate_ this stupid show. They keep killing off people for no damn reason! I don't freaking get it."

"Why do you still watch it, then?" asked Elsa, pulling out her notebook from her bag.

"Because I don't want to study," Idina answered smoothly. Elsa merely smiled and climbed onto her bed, opening her notes. "Midterms?"

"Yes," Elsa answered.

"Thank God theater doesn't have written midterms." Elsa stuck her tongue out at her roommate while the latter pulled out and unwrapped her sandwich. "Where'd you go?"

"I went into town. I found a coffee shop that didn't look like it was going to blow up because of all the people, unlike Old William." Elsa's nose wrinkled at the name. "Anyway, I managed to get in some studying time a while ago—probably four hours."

"And you're _still_ going to study?" Idina said disbelievingly.

"I've got a hot date with Adler," Elsa jested lightly, and the dark-haired girl groaned again.

"Did you know that I hated my psychology class? _Way_ too many people to remember. Like, _every_ theory is attached to someone. What's up with that?" Idina shook her head. "I don't know how you put up with it."

Elsa just smiled. "It's my major; I kind of have to." The dark-haired girl took a bite of her sandwich and spoke with a full mouth.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go watch more people die."

Elsa wanted to point out that watching people die isn't exactly the most entertaining of things—she should know, she lived through it—but instead she fished out her Xanax and a bottle of water from her purse and fingered the frayed foil caps. Her phone vibrated.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Ok. Thank u Elsa :-) Good night and ily_

Without a second thought, Elsa popped the flat foil cap and swallowed one pill. She lied down and closed her eyes, trying to suppress her accelerating heartbeat.

* * *

**_ to be continued_**


	2. Chapter 2

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 2_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

Elsa found herself a regular at Burgess Brew a month later. With the West Library still being in repair (seriously, what kind of pipe blew up to cause _that_ kind of damage?) and Old William still giving her nervous chills even by the mere thought of the place, she couldn't find anywhere else to go.

Burgess Brew proved to be a nice, comfortable place to do school work in for hours on end, with it's soothing scent of coffee and the low hum of customers' conversations kept at a polite volume. And the place was never crowded—granted, some days made her want to run and hide due to the sheer volume of people, but it never burst at the seams. Not like Old William.

Halfway through her paper, she yawned and stretched, lightly bringing a hand to scratch at her neck. Her eyes drifted to the window.

They flashed with interest as she spotted a familiar platinum-haired boy with jovial blue eyes.

The clock on her laptop blinked. _5:43_.

She placed her chin the palm of her hand and observed him.

Elsa found herself a routine in the past month that she had been frequenting this particular coffee shop, and that was enter, order, settle, work, stare, get back to work. Coming in at around four, she had ample time to work on work her professors assigned before the Passerby came to, well, pass by.

It was a name she bestowed upon him after the fifth consecutive day she saw him at the same pedestrian at around the same time from the same place where she sat. Elsa recognized him as the boy who pulled away the little girl—who she assumed was his sister, since they passed by here together often enough—the first time she had been here.

It wasn't hard to recognize him—his ghostly hair made sure of that.

She supposed she was being creepy with watching him and all, but to be completely honest, she just happened to be looking outside the first few times and found him there all those times. The glances that followed were merely… curiosity.

He never looked at her, of course. He was trapped in a sea of bustling people, sometimes alone, or with his sister, or a little boy (his brother, maybe?), or a rowdy group of guys—which she assumed was his circle of friends. Elsa's lips curled at the edges whenever she witnessed any of their silly antics. It must be fun.

Like she did almost everyday, she stared at his retreating back as he dissolved into the crowd.

Elsa glanced back at her laptop screen, the abrupt end of the sentence glaring up expectantly at her. She yawned again and saved her work and tucked away her laptop. The paper wasn't due for another two days anyway.

Elsa packed up and exited the café ("Thanks and come again!" she heard from the counter). She was almost at the bus stop when her phone vibrated.

_**From:**__ Idina_

_Please pick up Pop Tarts. Smores. Thanks_

Elsa grinned at the message and made a mental note to pick up Pop Tarts for her roommate, but saw two missed notifications.

_**1 Missed Call From:**__ Anna_

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Elsa I need to talk to u. Call me ASAP ty_

Elsa stood near the building instead of the middle of the street as she took deep breaths to calm herself. _Not in public, not in public. _

The blonde steeled herself as she entered the nearest convenience store and deli, trying to calm herself down as she bought her roommate's Pop Tarts. The cashier seemed to be focused on everything else but her as she prattled on her phone, and Elsa was grateful.

_**To:**__ Idina_

_Got them._

The _ping_! came a few seconds after Elsa pressed SEND.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Elsa, pls pls PLS call me. ASAP._

Elsa took a seat at the deli area and immediately dialed for her sister. It went through after half a ring.

_"Elsa!"_ Anna's voice sounded muffled.

"Anna," Elsa answered worriedly, "Anna, are you okay?"

"_You were right," _Anna cried from the other end. _"Hans is a jerk! He's a jerk and a liar and a butt face! He only partnered up with me because he wanted an A."_

Elsa wanted to correct her and say that _No, I never said Hans was a jerk or any of those things_, but cold relief washed over Elsa like a tidal wave, so immense that she should have felt guilty for it. Especially because Anna was obviously bawling her eyes out on the other end. "Oh, Anna, it's okay—"

"_I hate him!_" Anna cried, wails crackling through the earpiece. "_I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!_"

"It happens, sweetie," Elsa tried to coo, but all she heard in response were mangled cries of despair. It sounded similar to a dying cat.

"_I don't want to go to school anymore!"_

Elsa sighed. "You know that's not going to happen, Anna."

"_I don't _care_! I hate him_!" Anna cried again, and all Elsa felt was stacking guilt atop her immense relief. She let her sister cry on the other end of the phone, while she murmured words of comfort.

Minutes later, Anna had calmed down and has said goodbye. Elsa had hung up and stared at the black screen. She probably should feel bad for Anna, but her sister was too naïve for her own good.

Her phone _ping_!-ed, a message flashing on the screen.

_**From:**__ Idina_

_Mission accomplished. Return to base_

Elsa sighed and tried not to feel bad. Mission accomplished, indeed.

* * *

Elsa looked up from the book she was reading when the door opened. "Hey, Elsa, are you—oh, shoot, right. You go home for the weekend." Idina shook out her damp hair as she closed the door. "Careful, it's raining pretty hard out there."

"Thanks." Elsa went back to her novel.

"When are you leaving?"

"Probably when the rain stops." She bit out of the Pop Tart in her hand.

Idina eyed it. "Is that the last one?"

"Nope, there's two more in the box."

Idina gave an exaggerated sigh of relief and shed her coat. "Oh, good. Those'll be gone by tomorrow." She flopped on to the bed, still fully dressed.

"Rough day?" Elsa supplied, and Idina simply groaned.

"Ex_haus_ting." Idina dragged the middle syllable longer than necessary. Silence hung in the air. "Are you going back to that café place soon?"

Elsa shrugged, eyes still trained on the book. The rhythmic tapping of raindrops on their dorm room window started to slow to a light drizzle and Elsa closed her book, deciding to leave before the rain got worse. She tucked it away into her bag and picked up her keys. "See you Monday," she told Idina, who replied with nothing but a thumbs up.

Elsa picked up her coat and thumbed at her phone.

_**To:**__ Anna_

_On my way home! Expect me in an hour._

The train ride home was quiet, which Elsa appreciated. She arrived home not an hour later, and was poised to ring the doorbell when the door swung open.

"Elsa!" Anna almost screamed, blue eyes bright and smile beaming. She all but tackled her sister. "I'm so glad you're home!"

"I was home last Sunday, too," Elsa joked, but nevertheless hugging back. "Where are aunt Jen and uncle Chris?"

"Business trip, remember? They'll be gone for the whole weekend." Elsa nodded—the occurrence wasn't new to either of them especially because, ever since they took in kids, they had to work twice as hard to keep up the ability to put food on the table.

The blonde headed up to her room, neatly placing her bag on the desk. Anna trailed behind her.

"How are you, Anna?" asked Elsa, carefully. The redhead shrugged.

"I'm okay. Kristoff offered to beat Hans up for me." Elsa gave a droll grin at that. Of all the things that could be said about her younger sister, the first thing on the top of that list is completely dense.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Anna waved it off. "I told him he was being silly."

Elsa liked Kristoff. She really did. Her sister's best friend always left a positive impression whenever she came across him, ever since he and Anna were both twelve and he helped her up when she slipped from running in the mud and offered her his share of dessert when she ended up crying. Even more so when he wasn't playing in the mud in the first place, and that he was giving up his most favorite dessert in the world.

And now, both at seventeen, Kristoff kept looking out for her. His affection, Elsa noticed, didn't waver in the slightest.

Anna was talking now, but Elsa cut her off. "How's Kristoff?"

The redhead shrugged. "He's fine. I was really mad about the Hans thing. More than I was, actually."

"That's because he likes you," Elsa murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing." Anna threw up an eyebrow and Elsa shrugged. "You're over this Hans guy pretty quickly."

Anna scowled. "Well, he was a jerk. And jerks don't deserve to be cried over."

Elsa grinned at her sister. "Wise words."

"Right?" Anna replied enthusiastically, "Kristoff said that."

"Really," the blonde said, not really wanting a reply. She yawned. "Hey, I'm feeling pretty tired. I'll go nap for a bit."

"Oh." Anna's face fell, but she nodded in understanding. "Um, okay. I'll call you for dinner."

"Thank you." Elsa smiled at her sister, "Tell me more about what happened then." Anna smiled back and closed the door as she showed herself out.

Elsa's room was simple—her walls were a comforting light blue, her bed wrapped in pristine white sheets. White furniture sat at the corners, hardly touched ever since she moved out to live in the dormitories at UB. She took off her shoes and nestled into her bed, staring out the window.

She remembered the whole moving to UB. She wished she didn't.

She had stayed in this very position on her bed three years ago, trying to block out Anna's sobbing from all the way down the hall. "She's leaving me!" Anna had cried to her aunt and uncle, voice shrill and panicked. "Mom and Dad left and now she's _leaving_ _me_!"

The trip to the campus really only took an hour, as it was in the next city over, but given everything that happened, Elsa felt like it light years away. Not three weeks after her parents' funeral, Elsa was moving out.

She welcomed the distraction, really. As she packed away her things, she dwelled on the fact that it was a fresh start. That she could think about other things. That she could _move on_.

Elsa didn't realize that while she was moving on, she was also leaving someone behind.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift to sleep, Anna's sobs from that day the soundtrack of her slumber.

* * *

When Elsa went downstairs, Kristoff was watching television in the living room.

"Hey, Elsa," he greeted from the couch. Marshmallow, their big, light-furred Labrador, was nestled comfortably at his feet. Elsa smiled.

"Hello, Kristoff," she responded politely. "How've you been?"

"Good. And you? How's college?"

Elsa shrugged. "I'm surviving." She looked around the living room. "Where's Anna?"

"She went to the bathroom."

Elsa situated herself in a nearby armchair and stared at the blonde boy. "I heard about what happened with Hans."

His expression darkened. "He's a jerk. He shouldn't have played Anna like that. She deserves so much better."

"She does, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Kristoff nodded, this time looking at Elsa. "She's sweet and nice and pretty and kind and funny and passionate and amazing. Hans was an asshole for treating her that way."

"What did you do about it?" He sighed.

"Nothing. She didn't want me to do anything." He rolled his eyes. "Sometimes, she's too nice."

"She is, isn't she?" Kristoff nodded in agreement. "She deserves someone better."

"Definitely," Kristoff answered without missing a beat.

"She deserves someone like you."

"She deserves someone like—_Wait_." Kristoff turned red, brown eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "W-What?" He looked away. "N-No. No! No way. That's… that's totally ridiculous." He said the last part with a bit of despair to his tone.

Elsa smiled at him, even though he couldn't see it. "My sister may be dense, but I'm definitely not. I know you like her."

"Kristoff likes who now?" Kristoff yelped when Anna popped out of nowhere, making Elsa giggle.

"No one!" Kristoff practically screamed, bolting up and grabbing Anna by the arm, looking anywhere but Elsa's and Anna's faces. Marshmallow barked at the sudden movement and stalked away. "Hey, Anna, let's go to your room!"

"Um, okay—" Elsa giggled as her sister was all but dragged up the stairs. Marshmallow approached Elsa and laid his head on her lap. She stroked it affectionately.

"I know you like him, boy," she said to the dog, "Let's hope Anna keeps him."

Marshmallow just wagged his tail and opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out at her.

* * *

Elsa prided herself in having a steady sense of grace under pressure, but this was honestly just ridiculous.

Walking out of her political science class, she bumped into her roommate.

"Hey." Idina grimaced at the stack of papers in Elsa's arms. "Is that homework?" she asked Elsa, not bothering to hide her disgust. "The school year just started like, three weeks ago."

Elsa sighed and attempted to adjust the strap of her bag on her shoulder. It didn't work. "Unfortunately, yes. It's also readings for the finals."

The dark-haired girl eyed the room schedule near the doorway. "Ew—_Weselton_? No wonder you're in deep shit." Idina reached over and fixed Elsa's bag strap. "Literally and figuratively."

"Thanks," Elsa said to Idina, trying not to think about the workload she had to at least _start_ tackling that evening.

"Am I waiting up for you?"

Elsa shook her head. "I'd rather you not—who knows how long this will take." Idina nodded in understanding and left Elsa with a polite good-bye.

"By the way," Idina mentioned before she was completely out of earshot, "The West Library is open again. A third of the books are soaked through, though, so you have a better shot at getting digital copies. Thought you might want to give it a shot."

Elsa thanked her and headed for the West Library, trying her best to ignore the sympathetic looks students shot her as she lugged around five pounds worth of reviews of the Constitution.

Four hours later, Elsa yawned and set aside the fifth handout, rubbing her eye to rid herself of her sleepiness. A smooth track in another language played through her headphones—the lack of understandable words usually helped her study, but right now it was just making her sleepy. She hit PAUSE on her MP3 player and glanced at her watch.

It was much too early to be calling it a day, but Elsa was honestly too tired to even care. She glanced around the well-lit library. She occupied a couch and table by herself, and while she would normally think that whoever did was rude, the library was barely occupied that there was so much room for anyone.

A handful of students littered the library's study hall, headphones plugged in and pens scribbling notes or fingers rapidly pressing keyboards. Elsa normally reveled in the silence, ready to conquer any amount of schoolwork that any of her instructors rolled her way, but she decided that she was away from the library far too long.

Elsa longed for the comforting smell of coffee, soft yellow lights and the light buzz of conversation instead of blaring white lights, hard desks and deafening silence.

She checked her watch again and watched the seconds tick by. It was a little half past eight, and going into town could happen—Burgess Brew closed at midnight, after all. She could get _some_ work done, maybe even be more productive…?

Her eyes drifted over to the daunting stack of papers, and sighed. She grabbed her MP3 player and chose a track that was a little more upbeat, and then picked up her next handout. She rotated her wrists, highlighter poised in her fingers.

Homework, one. Elsa, zero.

* * *

Idina was fast asleep when Elsa returned from the West Library Study Hall. This was the fifth night in a row.

The more sociable of the two left a considerate post-it on the lamp of her night stand—_Saved a Pop Tart for you just in case you were hungry_, it read, accompanied by a smiley face—and the shiny silver foil of the treat glinted in the light.

Elsa picked it up and unwrapped it. Elsa was actually pretty hungry, she realized belatedly after her third bite, but the desire to get at least a B in political science does things to you.

She sat on the edge of her bed and chewed thoughtfully. Her eyes landed on her nightstand drawer, and before she realized she was doing it, she opened it and pulled out a small, familiar cream envelope. It was taped shut on the flap, barring anyone from opening it, and Elsa knew exactly why.

It had been advised, time and time again, that the best way for a PTSD patient to recover is to implement something called exposure therapy, where the patient is gradually exposed to the source of their trauma. If a person was traumatized by fire, they start by looking at it, then using it, and gradually go up all the way to lighting it. If you traumatized by an event that happened in let's say a bank, you'd work your way up into going inside a bank without breaking into sweat and crying your eyes out.

Elsa found out that no one really had any treatment for trauma that people caused you.

Sliding her thumb over the shiny tape covering practically half of the envelope, eyes seeing a blank piece of paper, but her mind was fully aware of every line, every curve—as if she wasn't seeing the envelope, but the photo itself.

The image was tattooed into Elsa's mind. She couldn't escape from it, not really.

Elsa remembered the words of her therapist. _"Maybe you have something of your parents," _he had said, smiling at her gently._ "Something you can look at to remind yourself of them, of how they loved you. A photo, perhaps."_

The second she laid her eyes on the photo later that night, she'd been a sobbing mess, hyperventilating all over the place. She couldn't do it. Not at the time, anyway.

And she grew to realize that maybe she never could.

She stuffed the photo in an envelope and taped it shut, hoping for the life of her that she could forget the significance of that envelope but she never brought herself to throw it away. Elsa brought it with her to university, instead.

Elsa felt tears sting the backs of her eyes. She put the envelope back in her drawer and tossed the half-eaten Pop Tart in the trash. She suddenly wasn't hungry.

* * *

**_to be continued_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a short reminder for everyone: This story is generally told in Elsa's point of view, so the text messages she receives are all being read from her perspective. Just in case you guys get lost with the endless Anna's, pay attention to the To's and From's.**

**8/1/2014: Edited according to MikiFubuki's review. Thanks for spotting the error and I'm so sorry for the mishap.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 3_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

"Welcome to Burgess Brew!"

Elsa gave the girl at the counter a shy smile as she made her way to her usual spo—Oh.

It was taken.

Elsa frowned slightly, brows furrowing. It wasn't like she _owned_ the spot, per se, but she felt an odd attachment to it, nonetheless. After all, each day she spent here she sat in that cozy little corner. She glanced at her watch and found that it was a bit after five, which probably explained things. She missed her spot claiming period.

She remembered that the Passerby wouldn't be at the nearby pedestrian until later, so she looked for another area to sit in. Elsa settled at a small round table near her usual spot, facing in the same direction.

After ordering and setting up her workspace, she bit into the cookie on her plate. She was dismayed, too, when they didn't have the chocolate cake she usually ordered, but really, there's only so much she could do.

Halfway through both her cookie and what was probably the hundredth handout in her political science stack, she stretched and eyed the remainder of her work. Finals week was in two weeks, and after that she would be home free for a well-deserved vacation. Setting down her highlighter, she picked up her drink and looked out the window.

As if on cue, a mass of people gathered at the pedestrian—and, as expected, a head of pale hair came bustling through. Elsa watched him as he walked to the pedestrian. She always thought he was kind of cute—but now, watching his face as he walked alone, that he was, in fact, gorgeous. He had nice blue eyes and a nice nose, a nice—basically, she concluded, he had a nice face. He had ears a bit too big for his head but it was kind of cute, and _wow_, she thought to herself he was actually really, _really_ cute.

After a moment, she sharply realized that he walked right past the pedestrian corner.

And again, she realized—this time with slight horror—he was walking towards her specific direction.

Elsa's eyes shot down in an attempt to hide her blatant staring, hands rapidly busying themselves with her papers. She really had no idea if he saw her or not, but she was vaguely aware of him as he approached. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when he walked past her.

A moment later, she heard the dim sound of the bell above the café entrance tinkle lightly.

She ignored it and went back to work.

* * *

The next time Elsa was on her way to Burgess Brew, summer break passed by uneventfully. Oh, except for when Kristoff _finally_ asked Anna out. That was nice.

"_So you're not coming home this weekend?"_ Anna's voice was dripping with sadness as it carried over the speaker. _"School just started! You can't possibly have _that_ much to do."_

Elsa sighed and she stepped off the bus. "I really wish I could come home, Anna. But I can't—I promised Idina I'd help her with the room. We really need to clean it up since no one stayed in it over the summer."

Idina had practically shoved cleaning gloves in her face when she came back from her last class yesterday and had said—actually, it was more of an order than a statement—that they take the weekend to clean the room. Elsa agreed, of course; she had a bunch of papers from previous classes she should really get rid of.

Elsa could practically hear Anna's frown through the phone. _"Okay. But next weekend? We can go watch a movie!"_

Elsa giggled. "Next weekend for sure." She saw the sign for Burgess Brew up ahead.

"_Promise, okay?"_

"I promise," Elsa said. "I gotta go, Anna. See you soon. Say hi to Kristoff for me."

"_I will. Bye, Elsa! Love you!"_

"Love you." Elsa clicked END and shoved her phone into her back pocket.

The sky overhead was heavily tinged with dusky pinks and purples and blues, and the air started to turn chilly. Winter was drawing near, and the soft, comforting rustle of colorful leaves nestled on branches served as a gentle reminder.

Elsa stepped into the cozy café, and the bell above the door made a light jingle. "Good evening," someone called from the counter, and the sounds of working machinery and the buzz of small talk from people in chairs and couches coupled with the pleasant acoustics situated hung pleasantly in the air like the smell of good coffee.

Elsa quickly walked to her usual spot on the bar—the last stool facing the brick wall and nearest to the window—and pulled out her laptop. The light sounds of the coffee machines and the blended hum of conversations of the patrons of the place provided Elsa with just the right amount of focus she needed for this paper (honestly, Elsa could barely believe one of her instructors already assigned them with a paper within the first week of school, but there wasn't much she could do aside from comply). With that, she set to work.

She wasn't sure how long she was hunched over her laptop, but by the time she stretched, she had finished seven pages worth of information on dementia, from its causes and symptoms to famous people who had it.

"Um, excuse me," she heard from next to her. Standing there was a familiar-looking boy with pale hair and bright blue eyes, smiling at her. Elsa recognized him as _the_ Passerby—apparently, now he worked here. "Hi."

And now he was talking to her. Great.

"Hello," Elsa said, her heartbeat feeling like it was about to gear up for a marathon. "May I help you?"

"Oh, no—actually, yeah, you can," he said, offering her a tray of small cups with a colorful array of assorted smoothies inside. "Would you like some?"

Elsa eyed the concoctions with slight apprehension. "Um, no, thank you."

A shadow of something—disappointment?—passed over his face, but it was so quick Elsa must've imagined it. "Are you sure? They're good, I promise."

Elsa eyed them warily, but plucked one from the tray with slightly trembling hands. "Thanks."

"No, thank _you_," he said, almost proud of himself. He flashed her a smile. "Enjoy your drink!" he said over his shoulder as he made his way back to the register, and Elsa looked down at the smoothie inside the cup. She took a sip, the sweet, purplish blend massaging her throat nicely. Before she realized it, she had finished the drink.

Elsa snuck a glance back at the counter and found sharp blue eyes staring right at her. Elsa's heart thumped in her chest and she blinked rapidly, trying to take more deep breaths to handle her panic.

The Passerby just smiled at her, mouthed a Bye, and turned back to the coffee machine.

Elsa packed up and quickly left without another word.

* * *

The Main Library was usually crowded and on principle Elsa avoided crowded places, but unfortunately for her this was the only library building that had the only copy of the book she needed for one of her classes.

Fortunately, the Main Library wasn't very full this particular Monday, so Elsa felt like she could breathe a little.

Retrieving the book was simple enough. Get in, get to the fifth floor, get out. A few handfuls of students stayed in the third floor study hall that was situated next to the shelves, but they served no disturbance, so her task was easy enough, plucking out the book with ease. Elsa's eyes skimmed over a particularly familiar head of platinum hair getting up from one of the tables and—

Elsa turned immediately. She took quick strides and headed to the elevator. The elevator flashed a _7_ and she pressed down. The _ding!_ that signaled the elevator's arrival served as her reprieve and she stepped inside the chrome box.

"Hold the elevator, please!" she heard, and she started to panic. _No, no no—_

The Passerby was standing in front of her.

"Oh—hey," he said, and Elsa looked at anywhere but him. He stepped inside and stood next to her, the doors closing behind him. The elevator barely started to move when he spoke again. "You… go to Burgess Brew, right?"

Elsa nodded, too timid to speak.

"I figured. I remember seeing you there," he said casually, flashing Elsa an expectant look.

She swallowed, eyes trained on her blurred reflection on the elevator doors. She noticed the line of the doors situated itself exactly between her and the Passerby. "Yeah, I-I do."

The Passerby seemed satisfied with the answer despite the lack of substance in her response. "I'm Jack, by the way." He reached out his hand and she politely accepted, not having much grip in her shake.

Elsa could feel her fingers start to twitch when she pulled her hand away. "I'm Elsa."

The elevator _ding!_-ed and the doors slid open.

"I better go ahead before I'm late for my class. It was nice to meet you, though." He hiked his bag strap higher on his shoulder and ran out of the elevator. "See you around!"

"It's nice to meet you, too," Elsa said, but he was already too far to hear her.

* * *

Two weeks later, Elsa was back at Burgess Brew. Sitting in her usual spot she went on with her usual activities, until she saw something move in the corner of her eye.

"You're here a lot," the Passerby—_Jack_, she remembered belatedly—mentioned casually, plopping down on the stool next to her. She looked around and found that the place was less occupied this time.

"Yeah," she replied, squeezing her palms gently. "The, uh, in-campus café barely has space since it's so crowded."

"What do you study in UB?"

Elsa stared. "Um." Was he even allowed to do this? Didn't he have to go back to work? Elsa shook her head. "Aren't you, supposed to be, you know—"

That same shadow passed over his face again, barely darkening his bright eyes, but it left as quickly as it came. "Sorry, it's—you're here all the time, by yourself. Even before I started working here, you were always, um—" Jack cleared his throat. "Anyway—I—well, I just thought you might, I don't know, want some company. Or something."

Elsa blinked, taken aback.

Jack visibly panicked. "But if I'm bothering you I can just go—"

Elsa shook her head, as if trying to sink back into the moment. "No, no. Um, in that case… Thank you," she replied, taking hold of her the cup she ordered earlier so she could steady her hands, which began to tremble. _Oh. Um._ What happened to cool, calm and collected Elsa? "I take psychology. I'm a junior."

Jack gave a low whistle. "That's cool! I take the same thing."

"You do?" Elsa asked, brows furrowing. "How come I never see you around?"

Jack grinned while she took a sip of her Frappuccino (_which he probably whipped up_, she thought to herself). "I'm a freshman."

Elsa nodded. "That explains things." She paused. "Wait—you're a freshman? How old are you?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm nineteen."

"You're only nineteen?" Elsa failed to curb the disbelief in her tone.

Jack grinned at her sheepishly and scratched his cheek, casually leaning on the desk space next to her. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"

Elsa blinked and set down her drink, mostly so she wouldn't spill anything because of her shaking. She didn't even know why she was so nervous. "No, no—I just—" she sighed, half-embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I just thought you were older."

"It's okay," Jack said in consolation, smiling as he leaned closer towards her. "I thought _you_ were younger."

Elsa had no doubt that he meant it as a compliment, but he was so close to her—too close for any sort of comfort—that her throat started closing up and her heart rate jumped up erratically. She bolted from her stool and Jack stepped back in shock.

"I have to—um, I'll be—restroom," she blurted out in a mumble that confused even her own ears, face red and heart pounding. Her feet automatically carried her to the corner of the restroom, briefly thanked the heavens that it was empty, and locked herself inside.

Elsa leaned on the door and took several deep breaths. _Calm down, Elsa. Calm down._ She could feel the dread making the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end, but she willingly calmed herself down. _It's not your first attack, Elsa. You can get through this. It will pass._

"It will pass," she told herself out loud, and the sound calmed her throbbing chest.

Elsa had no clue how long she spent in the restroom, taking in deep breaths to quell her panic. After wetting her hands in the sink, she steeled herself and stepped out of the restroom, trying her best to ignore the line that formed by looking straight at the ground on her way back to the bar.

Setting herself back in her stool, Elsa took a deep breath and decided to pack up for the night. Sneaking a glance to the counter, she found Jack standing awkwardly. Their eyes met by accident, and Elsa shot her gaze down. She hurriedly fixed her things and left.

* * *

Idina was proudly declaring her procrastination efforts that evening.

"Elsa, you should really watch this show; it's about this kid whose parents die—well, kind of, it's complicated—but anyway he tries to get his mom back by kind of selling his soul to the devil—also kind of, but not really, again, it's complicated—but instead he loses his leg and his brother, and then he tries to get his brother back and sacrifices his arm, and _holy shit_, it's really good. Watch it."

Elsa shot her a look. "Oh… kay. Don't you have homework?"

Idina rolled her eyes. "I refuse to give into heartless professors who dump homework on your on the first week of school. It's unethical." She waved her hand as if swatting away the topic. "Anyway, we are all set for our cleaning date on the weekend. I borrowed a shit load of stuff from the janitors. We literally have industrial grade floor wax." Idina beamed, a wild look in her eye. "This place is going to _sparkle_."

True enough, Idina rolled in a tub of industrial-grade floor shine on the following Saturday morning, along with a mop, spray bottles filled with soap water, handheld vacuum cleaners, rags, feather dusters, and a ton of other cleaning paraphernalia. The dark-haired girl handed Elsa a mask and a pair of bright yellow multi-purpose gloves, and they got down to business.

At the end of the full two and a half hours of cleaning, with the floor gleaming, beds made and their closets clear of stacks of old paper, Idina admitted that she may have overestimated the filthiness of their room, wiping her head with her shirt sleeve. Elsa giggled and headed to the bathroom to wash off the dirt on her skin.

"Want to head downtown for lunch?" Idina asked Elsa, who came in freshly dressed from the shower. The blonde shrugged and answered with a Sure, and fifteen minutes later, they were on the bus to the town.

The bus ride was filled with conversation that they barely had—the only time they really saw each other was at night, and even then it was sparse, since Elsa studied out and Idina went out. Elsa discovered that her roommate was dating someone again (the last time had been either a month or two months ago—Elsa couldn't recall properly), and that she was auditioning for the UB Repertory's rendition of _Spring Awakening_.

Elsa didn't particularly want to watch the play, and Idina seemed to understand because she never asked. Before they knew it, they had stepped off the bus and were walking aimlessly across the town. They hadn't really figured out what they would do when they _got_ to Downtown Burgess.

"Hey, let's go to that place you always go to," Idina suggested, and Elsa agreed. What was the harm?

When they entered the café and Elsa saw a familiar head of hair behind the counter and realized that _that_ was the harm.

Elsa turned to her roommate but she was already settled on a cozy looking armchair near the entrance, gesturing for her to order. Elsa smiled thinly and marched to the counter.

Thankfully, the boy—Jack, she remembered again—had gone to the back and in his place was a vibrant looking girl. "Hi!" she greeted jovially, "Welcome to Burgess Brew. What would you like for today?"

"Um, I'm—" Elsa began, but she was cut off.

"Oh, nevermind, Tooth, I'll handle—oh, hi." Tooth raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of tone of Jack's voice form warm to surprised, but smartly walked away. Elsa's breath hitched in her throat.

"Um, blueberry pancakes, please."

"Huh?" Jack blinked at her before realizing that he had to punch in her order. "Oh. Oh, right! Sorry about that." He looked back at her when he finished pressing things in the register. "Will that be all?"

"Yeah." Elsa held out her payment and he took it gingerly, slipping it into the cash register

"Elsa… right?" Jack said cautiously, handing her her change. Elsa nodded, not speaking. "All right—I'll call you when your order's ready." He grinned at her, probably in an attempt to get her to relax, but all it did was make her agitated.

"Thanks," she said briskly, walking back to the armchair.

Idina was staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "Who was _that_?"

Elsa just shrugged and shook her head at the same time, unable to find the words. Her roommate's green eyes traveled back and forth from Elsa to the counter, and Elsa shot it a glance.

She saw Jack, who happened to be staring at her (and, somehow, was completely unaware of Idina looking at him), and Tooth standing next to him with a wide grin on her face. His eyes suddenly widened and he dove behind the glass case display of food, making Tooth snort with laughter.

Elsa turned red. "He's no one." The blonde stood up immediately, trying to steady her shaking hands. "I'll be back," she squeaked, ignoring Idina's wide smirk, and made a beeline for the restroom.

* * *

Thankfully, Idina made no mention of their afternoon at Burgess Brew the weeks that followed. All she said was that "this place is nice," and they continued to make small talk.

When they got to the dorm room later that afternoon, Idina darted over to her laptop and watched "the most amazing show on the planet" while Elsa checked her phone.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Marshmallow literally sat on Kristoff when I was the one who told him to come. Wtf y_

Elsa suppressed a laugh.

_**To:**__ Anna_

_Marshmallow has always been a pretty good judge of character._

Her phone _ping!_-ed after a few seconds.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Thats true. Marsh went INSANE the sec Hans stepped into the house_

_**From:**__ Anna_

_I really shoulda taken that as a sign_

_**To:**__ Anna_

_It's not a problem anymore, Anna. You have your boyfriend now._

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Kristoff isnt my boyfriend, Elsa…._

_**To:**__ Anna_

_Oh he's not? Then I'll have a talk with him when I get home._

Elsa giggled at her sister's reply.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_Not YET anyways. ;-) When Im done w him he'll be beggin me for mercy_

_**From:**__ Anna_

_To finally say yes_

_**To:**__ Anna_

_Be careful with him, Anna. He's one of the few boys I actually approve of._

_**From:**__ Anna_

_I know. I will :-) Thanks Els. Love u_

_**To:**__ Anna_

_Love you too._

Anna's next text consisted of around ten smiley kisses. Elsa opened up a new message to someone else.

_**To:**__ Kristoff_

_Don't screw it up. :-)_

The reply followed after a few slow minutes.

_**From:**__ Kristoff_

_I will do my best Elsa. I promise :-)_

Elsa smiled at the message and sent him a Thanks and withdrew to her bed.

* * *

Jack had a huge smile on his face the next time Elsa saw him. He looked like a completely different person from their last few encounters.

"Hey! You're back," Jack greeted happily when Elsa lined up at the counter for her order. It was like he didn't remember their first few awkward meetings. "I thought I scared you last time or something."

Okay, so maybe he did.

Elsa gave a small shrug and pulled out her wallet. "I need a place to study," was all she said, and Jack's smile turned a little stiff, but the stiffness dissolved almost instantly.

"So, what'll it be today, Elsa?" he asked, pressing a few buttons on the register.

"Just chocolate cake, please," she said, pulling out a bill and handing it to him.

"No drink?" Elsa shook her head politely. "Okay—one chocolate cake coming right up."

A slice of chocolate cake materialized on her tray, along with a fork and a small cup of water. Before she could thank him, Jack cleared his throat.

"Did you like the raspberry blend last time?" Elsa blinked.

"The what—oh, _oh_, the one in the small cup. Yeah, it was good." She paused, rethinking her words. "I liked it. Thanks." Jack set her a megawatt smile Elsa resisted the urge to shield her eyes.

"No problem, Elsa." Elsa nodded and hurriedly walked to her usual spot, booting up her laptop and pulling out her notebook. The place was bare today, only one or two occupants on the cushy chairs, so it was more quiet than usual—she looked forward to the hum of conversation but steeled her resolve; she had a major exam in a week and she wanted to get a head start.

Before she could open her notebook, a clear cup with a familiar-looking blend slid next to her, and she turned to find a smiling Jack handing her a straw. "Here you go," he said, and Elsa blinked.

"Oh, um, thanks," she stammered, and moved to pull out her wallet. _Oh. Um._

"Hey, no—it's okay," Jack said, placing a hand over hers. "It's on me." Elsa jumped at the physical contact and Jack hastily retreated his hand, taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"No—It's—I'm—I'll be right back," she forced out in one breath, and Elsa immediately left for the restroom.

Jack was left standing there with a small frown on his face.

Elsa closed the restroom door behind her and shook her hands to rid themselves of the trembling. _Great, he thinks I'm weird_, she thought morosely. Why was she stuttering so much? She took several deep breaths and put a hand over her chest, willing herself to calm down. "Come on, Elsa," she whispered to herself, "Relax."

She left the restroom after a while, and found Jack leaning near her workspace. Elsa pressed her lips together, ready to apologize.

"Hey!" Jack said before she could get anything out. He fidgeted and wrung his hands, staring at anything but her. "Look, I'm really sorry for last time. The last few times. I didn't—I'm normally—I'm sorry. And for now, again, for bugging you. I swear I'll stop." Elsa stared, at a loss for what to say. Jack took it the wrong way and hung his head. "I'll just—I'll shut up and go."

"No!" Elsa blurted, finding her voice before he could leave. "No, no. It's, um." Jack was staring at her now, expectant, and Elsa felt the dread rise in her throat again. "It's not… you," she said lamely, "It's me." Jack cracked a wry grin.

"Sounds like a break up," he joked limply in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. Elsa forced out a laugh.

"No, really. Um, I'm—I'm not… normal, I guess." Elsa shrugged helplessly, unable to find any other word for it. Jack nodded, seeming to understand.

"Hey, it's okay. It's really not a problem if you don't want to talk to me," Jack offered, and Elsa shook her head.

"No, no, really—I'm… I'm not really good with people." Elsa smiled, feeling her self get closer to crying in embarrassment. "I wasn't trying to be a bitch, I swear—"

"Whoa, hold your horses!" Jack chuckled good-naturedly, holding his hands up. "You didn't come across as a bitch. If you did, you had every right to—I _was_ being kind of creepy." Jack gave her a kind smile. "It's not you, I promise."

"Oh. Well, that's good, then," Elsa said lamely, and she swore the awkwardness in the air was palpable. Jack smiled at her and pointed his thumb back to the counter.

"I guess you must be busy, I should probably—"

"Not really." The words flew out of Elsa's mouth before she could stop them. "Uh, I have an exam to study for… but that's in a week. So I'm—I'm good."

Jack grinned stupidly. "Oh. Cool! That's awesome. Mind if I… hang around for a bit?" He gestured around him to the almost empty coffee shop. "Since the shop's slow and all."

Elsa felt the dread creep up the back of her throat and tears prick the back of her eyes, but she took a deep breath and forced the feelings back. She smiled. "Sure."

"Awesome." He beamed and slid in to the stool next to her. "I'm Jack Frost," he said, reaching out to shake her hand. "It's nice to… properly meet you."

She slipped her hand in his. "Likewise," she replied, smile creeping unto her face. "I'm Elsa."

* * *

_**to be continued**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Let me take the time to give a huge Thank You to MikiFubuki for spotting that error in the last chapter. This is why you should send me reviews, guys—so when I embarrass myself, I can remedy it immediately.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 4_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

"Welcome to—oh," said a tall redhead behind the counter when Elsa stepped up to order. "Hold on a minute," he told her gently, and Elsa's brow furrowed when he walked away.

"Jack, your favorite customer's here! Do you want to take her order?" The redhead called quite loudly, and Elsa flushed. She didn't even want to imagine the looks on the coffee shop's customers right now.

She heard a yelp followed by a crash and Jack came through the swinging back room doors.

Jack almost tripped as he practically sprinted to the counter. "Ha ha," Jack said—not laughed, _said_—eyes wide and panicky. "That—that was Edmund. Don't—don't listen to him." Jack laughed awkwardly and shot a sharp glare as the smug redhead slipped into the back room. He turned back to Elsa. "Hello! Elsa. Hi, Elsa. Hey. How are you?"

Jack looked like he wanted to hit himself, while Elsa shook her head, trying to pay no mind to the scene that unfolded before her. "I'm… okay."

"That's good, that's good," Jack said, and then shook his head. "Um, right. Your order?"

"A slice of chocolate cake and a raspberry Blend, please," Elsa said to Jack, pulling out her wallet and handing him a bill. He put it in the cash register and gave her back her change all while grinning a goofy grin. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said. Before Elsa could turn to leave, he continued, "So how are you?"

Elsa looked at him strangely. "Fine," she dragged out, curious. "Why?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. I was just asking."

Elsa nodded awkwardly and Jack cleared his throat. The tall redhead—Edmund, Jack had said earlier—suddenly came in and shooed Jack away from the register, and Elsa swiftly walked away from the line of people forming behind her without another word.

* * *

The redhead Jack had called Edmund was taking her order again this time, and she thanked every deity that the shop was slow today—barely anyone to witness any embarrassing scenes that involved her just in case they managed to take place today. The blonde ordered her usual and was surprised to see Jack slowly sidling from behind the glass food case.

"Sorry about last week." Elsa started at Jack's words when he rounded the counter and got out to meet her. He donned the employees' standard brown apron with the Burgess Brew neon sign embroidered on the upper left area on the chest. "Bunny was, um, being stupid."

"No pro—" Elsa stopped in the middle of setting down her tray. "Wait. Bunny?"

"N—" Jack's brow furrowed, mouth ready to say something, maybe take it back—but suddenly his lips curled at the edges and he looked positively delighted. "Yeah. We all call him Bunny here."

"Why?"

"He has like, six bunnies. And he loves carrots. I think that's how he got his hair. Literally a carrot top." Jack shook his head in mock pity, but his lips were curling at the edges with a deviousness Elsa found amusing. "He's kind of a weirdo."

Elsa hid a laugh behind her hand. "Is that so?" Jack followed her to her corner.

"Yeah," Jack nodded vigorously, and he went on to tell this ridiculous tale on how Bunny—Edmund, she reminded herself—liked to hop and lay down on the grass. Elsa hardly believed it at all, but it was nice talking to Jack. He was funny.

"I really don't believe any of this," Elsa laughed, but Jack's mood didn't dampen. In fact, it seemed to lift even more.

"Oh, that doesn't matter. As long as Edmund's reputation is far beyond salvageable in your eyes, that's fine."

Elsa was still laughing even until a few minutes later, when Edmund was angrily waving at Jack to get to the counter to help with the orders. "You should go back there and help," she said in between giggles.

"Whoops," Jack said, feeling no remorse at all. "I think I made Thumper mad." Elsa laughed and motioned for him to go. He smiled at her. "I'll be back." Elsa just nodded, unable to say anything else.

Elsa significantly calmed down when Jack left to get back to work. She booted up her laptop and took out a pen and a notebook, starting on her digital readings for her philosophy class.

Around an hour later and two chapters done, Jack was sitting next to her again. "Hi," he greeted, pulling her away from her notes. Elsa looked to see a nearly-empty shop.

Her eyes settled on him. "Hi," Elsa greeted back. "Aren't you going to get fired for talking to me a lot?"

Jack shook his head. "Nah. North loves me."

"No, he doesn't!" Edmund called from the counter, making Elsa snort. She slapped a hand over her nose and mouth and blushed, but Jack didn't seem to notice. He issued a sour look at the glass display case and turned back to her.

"North is the owner, I'm guessing?" asked Elsa.

Jack nodded. "And really does love me." Elsa shook her head and Jack eyed her notes. "You're taking philosophy?"

"It's my minor," Elsa admitted, setting down her pen. "I've always found philosophy interesting. And useful, too."

"Oh? What's your major then?"

"Psychology."

Jack gaped. "Really? Me too!"

Elsa blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, really!" Jack's smile was so contagious that she felt her lips curl at the edges just by looking at him.

"What a coincidence," Elsa supplied and Jack nodded.

"Yeah, it is! Why'd you take it?" Elsa tensed. Jack noticed and his smile shrunk almost instantly, the corners of his mouth in an uneven tilt. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No, no." Elsa shook her head. "It's just… It's complicated." She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry; that was my fault." Jack was quiet for a minute. "How is psych, anyway? I mean, as a track. Honestly, I'm completely clueless."

Elsa shrugged. "It's okay. I'm in the sciences, so I have all the bio and chem classes."

"Oh, I don't think I have those."

"Then you're probably in the arts track," Elsa said conversationally. "Psych is okay. Definitely isn't easy, though."

"Really? How come?"

Time passed and their conversation blatantly refused to cease—Elsa found it a pleasant way to pass the time, since they only met a few months ago and this was the only time they really talked. They only snapped out of it when Tooth called Jack from the counter.

"I'm sorry for keeping you," Elsa apologized, and Jack shook his head so violently she was surprised he didn't get whiplash from it.

"No! No, it's totally cool. I just didn't realize we were talking for… wow." Jack glanced at his watch. "Well, I gotta go get back to work. I'll talk to you… later, maybe?"

"Maybe." Elsa shrugged with a smile, and Jack shrugged back.

"Okay then. See you around!" Elsa giggled and Jack sprinted off to the go back behind the counter. Her head turned and she was surprised to see that the sky outside had already become dark. Her laptop clocked blinked _8:15_ up at her. She and Jack were talking for probably three hours.

Elsa shook her head and went back to her schoolwork.

* * *

"Hey, Elsa!" she turned and found an boy with shaggy brown hair walking across the hallway barely occupied towards her with muted footfalls. (Well, kind of footfalls—one of his legs was prosthetic, so foot-clinks?)

Elsa turned her head and waved at her classmate—he was a sophomore in her sociology class and they sat next to each other a few times. "Hey, Hiccup."

"Sorry if I'm bothering you so suddenly," he said in one breath, "but do you have notes for today's class? Finals is in a month and I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Elsa blinked before giggling politely. "It's no problem at all." She fished out her notes while Hiccup was profusely thanking her.

"Oh, thanks, you don't know how—I owe you for this—"

She handed him her notes with a smile. "It's not a problem." He took them gratefully. "I honestly don't think you need the notes anyway. You get high grades."

"Ah, but success doesn't come without failure," he quipped and Elsa nodded, considering.

"Point taken. Why were you missing in class, anyway?"

Hiccup sighed and launched into an incredibly lengthy explanation. "My cat—his name's Toothless, and—"

"Toothless?" Elsa asked, bemused. Hiccup did this weird shrug-nod hybrid that only he was probably capable of pulling off.

"Yeah, it's a long story. Anyway, well, he got into a sort of accident this morning, so I had to rush him to the vet. Well, kind of; my girlfriend, Astrid Hofferson—yeah, I have a girlfriend and sometimes I find it hard to believe, too."

"No, it's not," Elsa said politely and watched his arms and shoulders move in different directions as he spoke, almost hypnotized. He didn't seem to notice her staring.

"Anyway, I'm sure you know her because I'm sure all smart people know each other and she's also on the school paper a lot—blonde volleyball sophomore Astrid Hofferson who led the UB Vikings to their third consecutive championship—_yeah_, her, she was driving, and she kind of has road rage, so we almost ran over this kid on a bike who also kind of had road rage but we stopped just in time but the kid totally thumped her car and Astrid decided to get down and "teach the punk a lesson" or something, her words not mine, and—I'm rambling. Sorry."

The corner of Elsa's lip twitched at the boy who was now staring at his shoes. "It's okay," she managed, slightly proud of herself for not laughing in his face. He was… amusing, to say the least. It was endearing. "Did you get out of the police situation okay?"

Hiccup looked back up at her did more of his shrugging, arm-swinging thing. "Yeah, pretty much." Elsa felt her pocket when she heard a sharp phone ring but Hiccup fished out his. "Sorry, that's mine." He pressed a button. "Hello?"

Some muffled speech. "Oh, I'm near West Hall. O—Hey, okay, yeah I'll stay put. Oh _ha ha_, yeah sure make a leg crack at the cripple. Bye." Hiccup slid his phone back into his pocket. "Sorry, that was my friend. He's—"

"Hiccup!"

"—right there," the brunet finished and pointed behind Elsa. She turned.

"Oh," she said, coming face to face with Jack.

"Elsa!" he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I lent Hiccup some notes," she answered, while the aforementioned boy looked at them back and forth.

"You two know each other?" Hiccup said, and Jack smiled at Elsa.

"Yeah, she comes by the coffee shop a lot," he said to Hiccup, but his eyes never left Elsa. "Hey, do you want to join us for lunch?" he asked her.

"Um." It couldn't hurt, really—she wasn't doing anything, Jack wasn't doing anything, Hiccup wasn't doing anything, and she didn't have much of a social life anyway so really, why not? "Maybe next time."

Jack looked considerably bummed about her refusal. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I have—um," she said, shrugging, "I have quite a lot to finish."

"If you're sure." Hiccup flashed her a smile. "Next time then?"

"Yeah, okay." The words slipped through Elsa's lips before she could think about them.

"Awesome." Hiccups phone rang again. "Ah, sorry—yes, Astrid? Thanks for the notes, by the way, Elsa!" Hiccup shuffled a bit to the side and carried on with his phone conversation.

Elsa nodded in Hiccup's direction and said to Jack, "Sorry."

"No problem. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, later."

"Cool." He gave a wave good-bye and approached Hiccup. She waved back at them and turned, walking back to the dormitories.

* * *

She and Jack had fallen into an odd sort of routine whenever Elsa would spend her afternoons and evenings over the following months at Burgess Brew—she would order, make small talk, get to work, Jack would come up to her and talk until someone called for him by the counter, and she would get back to work. She would never see him at school, for some reason—the only time they ever crossed each other's paths was during the elevator incident, but campus was big so it wasn't really surprising. For all she knew, they could have completely different break schedules.

But either way, they became friends. They would talk about almost anything; school, movies (all they ever seemed to talk was children's movies yet they spent a ridiculously long amount of time on it), food—anything that came up, they talked about. Elsa was careful to direct the conversations away from anything that had to do with her parents, but Jack didn't seem to mind. He kept chatting animatedly, and Elsa had to admit that his enthusiasm was highly contagious.

He would stick with her for a few hours for friendly conversation (Elsa admitted that it cut dangerously close to her running out of study time, but she couldn't really bring herself to tell him to stop), and would retreat back to the counter to go back to work.

Until today, however, as the café was practically empty save for less than a handful of patrons when she entered.

Elsa gave Tooth a look of confusion when she approached the counter. "Where is everyone?"

"There's this thing in the town plaza. A concert, I think. That's probably where everyone went." Elsa nodded.

"Ah, I see."

"Chocolate cake and raspberry Blend?" Tooth offered. "Jack says you always get that one." Elsa blushed.

"Um, yeah. Please." Tooth nodded with a knowing smile as she entered in Elsa's order. The back room doors swung open.

"Hey, Tooth, I'm gonna—" Jack's eyes widened in delighted surprise. "Elsa! Hey!"

Elsa waved timidly and noticed a stack of papers he held in one hand. "What's that?"

"Oh, um, some stuff I have to study for finals," he said, raising the stack and he looked at her. "Hey—mind if I sit with you today? The place is slow and I only have a week left to cram all this stuff into my brain."

Elsa gratefully took the tray that Tooth offered, and the smaller girl darted for the back room. Tooth nudged Jack along her way and shot him a wicked grin, but he ignored it. "Okay, I don't see the harm," Elsa allowed with a small shrug.

"Great! Thank you—I'll just go get my stuff from the back." Minutes after Elsa settled into an armchair—she had company this time, after all—Jack dumped himself on the one across the table and hung his head back. "Ah, better."

Elsa realized that she never really saw him without the employee apron, and decided he looked good just jeans and a hoodie. She realized that she was staring and quickly looked away.

Jack pulled up to look at her and grinned. "Thanks for letting me sit here."

"No problem." Elsa pulled out her notes and got to work.

Minutes of silence turned into hours and Elsa found herself itching to take a break. She stretched and flexed her wrists, already thinking of something to say to break the silence. Elsa looked ever at him and noted the concentration that furrowed his brow and the pen in between his teeth. She wasn't used to Jack being so quiet.

Before she could start a conversation, however, Jack made a sound akin to that of something she remembered watching when she was younger, a talking fish trying to copy a whale. Elsa's eyebrows shot up, taken aback, and her eyes flitted from her laptop screen to her friend. He was hunched over a rather thick book and several sheets of strewn paper, fingers buried in his light hair. "Are… you okay, Jack?"

Jack made another noise, this time closer to a crying puppy. Elsa's nose wrinkled at the sound and she tried again. "Do you… want to talk about it?" Jack's head shot up, manically staring at her.

"I'm going to fail!" he cried, not caring the least but that the remaining customers in the shop turned to look at him. Elsa felt herself go red with embarrassment, but she swallowed it, trying to ignore the stares. Jack, on the other hand, could care less.

Elsa cleared her throat and gave him a bemused expression. "I'm sorry?"

"Black's finals are in a week and I'm going to fail!" Jack bemoaned, gesturing wildly to the papers in front of him. Elsa reached over to pick up a stapled set and looked it over. Her eyebrows shot up again, but this time from interest.

"You have Dr. Pitchwal Black as a professor?" Jack nodded, lip trembling comically as he sadly stared at the paper in her hands. Elsa laughed and gave him a comforting grin. "Relax, he won't fail you! Don't worry."

Jack adopted a suspicious expression. "How do you know?"

Elsa rolled her eyes and returned the paper. "I had him, too, but I got him in my sophomore year since I took the class late. And judging by that paper, I'm guessing he gave you the 'history repeats itself speech,' right?" Jack nodded slowly, eyeing the paper she returned. "Yeah, you'll pass."

"For real?" Jack was beyond skeptical at this point, and Elsa simply smiled.

"Yeah—I should know. I got the same speech."

"That's awesome," Jack said genuinely, visibly relaxing. "Thank you! Man, I really thought my academic behind was doomed to be dipped into a boiling pot of academic frying oil."

Elsa giggled. "That's… quite a visual."

Jack tossed his head back and struck a pose. "Yes, I know—my behind is quite the vision. Thank you for noticing."

Elsa laughed so hard she nearly snorted. "I did not say that!"

"But you were thinking it," Jack supplied, eyes glinting with mischief. "I merely saved you the trouble of saying it out loud."

Elsa settled for shaking her head and hiding her giggles behind her hand. Jack smiled at her and cleared his throat. "So, um—hey, Elsa, I—"

"Jack!" someone called from the counter. Tooth was waving at him with a washcloth and raised the wrist that held her watch. "Time to clean up!"

"Whoa, that late already?" Jack mused aloud. Elsa glanced at her watch and winced as she read _11:32_. She had an 8 AM class in the morning.

Elsa swore under her breath. "I have to go," she said worriedly, and Jack shot her a concerned look.

"Why, what's up?"

Elsa rubbed her cheek. "I have an 8 AM class tomorrow—later, and—"

"Hey, no problem," Jack said. He stood up and stretched his limbs. "If you don't mind waiting for me to finish cleaning up, I can drive you back. I won't take long, promise." Jack smiled.

Elsa felt the dread crawl up her spine and she forced a grin. "No, it's fine. The bus'll do; besides, I really don't want to impose—"

Jack shook his head. "It's really no trouble—" Elsa just pressed her lips together and Jack drew a breath. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, okay. If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Elsa said, eyes focused on packing up that she missed the frown that settled on the boy's lips. When she looked back up, it was gone.

Jack tried again. "Well, at least let me know if you get home okay."

Elsa opened her mouth to protest his bargain, but Jack was already pulling out his phone. He offered it with a grin and Elsa giggled. "Is this some smooth plan to get my number?" she teased.

Jack chuckled good-naturedly. "Why? Is it working?"

Elsa pretended to think it over. "Pretty much, yes." She took his phone and keyed in her number, fingers swiftly ghosting over the screen of Jack's phone.

Jack pressed CALL and Elsa heard her pocket ring. His face broke into a grin. "Awesome." He looked at her. "But really, are you sure? It's not a problem at all."

Elsa slung her bag over her shoulder and smiled. "Yes, I'm sure." She tilted her head to the counter, where an irate Edmund was glaring at Jack. "You should get back to work."

"Yeah," Jack said, glancing at Edmund, whose face was starting to look purple from all the glaring. "Yeah, I should." He gave her one last grin. "Bye, Elsa! Take care."

Elsa slipped through the doors without another word and took off into the dark chilly streets of Downtown Burgess.

* * *

Winter break surrounded Elsa in a flurry of feelings from a singular hyperactive, overly giddy younger sister. When Elsa's phone flashed a message from Jack, Anna had been beside herself, bursting with exhilaration that it made Elsa dizzy from all the feelings that she was sure wasn't healthy to be cramped into one singular house.

"Are you _seeing_ _him_?" she shrieked over the dinner table, and aunt Jen and uncle Chris turned their attentions to the blonde whose cheeks were rapidly heating up.

"We're not dating," Elsa said, picking up her plate and bringing it to the sink. "We're just friends."

"We won't mind, Elsa," aunt Jen offered while Elsa walked back into the dining area. "You can see this boy, whoever he is… as long as we get to meet him."

"His name's Jack, aunt Jen," Anna said and Elsa squeaked, embarrassed. "He's sweet! He's been texting Elsa _everyday_ since she got back for winter break."

"Really?" Aunt Jen was a sucker for gossip. "So are you dating him?"

Elsa's cheeks threatened to burst. Leave it to Anna to blow everything out of proportion. "We're not dating! And that was _one_ text, Anna." Elsa glared at her sister, who adamantly refused to believe anything other than the tale she conjured up in her brain. "Really—we're just… friends. We just happen to be close friends." The end of the statement sounded more like a question, Elsa realized, and she coughed awkwardly.

Aunt Jen was prepared to fire more questions, but her uncle Christ beat her to it. "Let her be, Jen." Uncle Chris shrugged, and Elsa wanted to hug him. "She's old enough to decide who to see."

She didn't want to hug him anymore. "We're not seeing each other!" she cried out, "It was just _one_ text!" Elsa marched off to her room as Anna's maniacal cackles carried over from her seat in the dining room.

Thankfully, aunt Jen and uncle Chris left the topic alone, but Anna decided that there was nothing more important than Elsa's "love life." The blonde glared at her redhead sister, who followed her to her room and was now lounging on Elsa's bed, before turning to arrange things in her closet. "_Nothing_ is going on between me and Jack. I didn't even reply to his text!"

"But you see each other everyday at school," Anna stubbornly argued, sitting up. She had been arguing the plausibility of a relationship for hours, and it was nearing midnight. If Elsa had anything to say about her sister, it would be that Anna was _unbelievably_ stubborn.

And also completely delusional.

"I don't see him at school," Elsa corrected, frowning at her sister's obvious dismissal of the statement.

"But you still see him everyday." Unfortunately for Elsa, Anna was not one to back down.

"Not everyday! Just… almost everyday," Elsa finished weakly, obviously getting tired of this squabble. Or maybe she was getting tired of making excuses…? She shook her head. Definitely not.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because that makes a _huge_ difference." Elsa's fingers grasped at something in her closet, and she whipped around and threw it at her sister's head.

It hit Anna squarely in the forehead. "Hey!" she cried indignantly, and brightened when she picked it up. "_Hey_! It's Olaf!"

Elsa cracked a smile when Anna started cuddling with the stuffed snowman. "I haven't seen him in years," Elsa supplied, crossing the room to sit next to her sister. "I don't even remember how we got him."

"What? That's crazy!" Anna exclaimed. "Olaf was your _favorite_ toy! Right after dad—" Anna stopped herself and Elsa tensed. "Elsa, I'm sorry—"

The older one shook her head and offered a strained smile at her sister. "Listen, why don't… you keep him? I'm not here much anyway."

"Elsa…" Anna began, tone full of worry. The older of the two shook her head.

"It's okay. Olaf… needs company, anyway." Elsa pretended to stretch. "I'm gonna call it a night."

Anna nodded. "You're right." She strode to the door and opened it, but turned to face Elsa.

"This Jack guy seems very nice," Anna said suddenly, "Like, as a person. He seems like a genuinely good guy."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Anna, nothing is going on."

Anna ignored her sister. "I really do mean it, you know."

"Anna—"

Anna frowned. "Elsa, seriously."

Elsa sighed. "Okay, fine. He's nice and sweet and funny and overall great. Happy?"

"He sounds like a good person." Silence passed over them like a shadow and the seriousness of Anna's words sunk into the atmosphere. "Do you like him?" Anna tried, and Elsa blushed.

"He's my friend," Elsa said, "Nothing more."

Anna simply smiled. "You should still give him a chance, though—at least open up more. He's trying, I can tell."

"I want to, but…" Elsa trailed off, hoping to drop the subject.

"But what?"

"I just," Elsa whispered, more to herself than to anyone else, "I don't want to set myself up for disaster." Elsa felt her breath hitch in her throat. "I don't want to set _him_ up for disaster."

Anna frowned. "Elsa, you're not giving yourself enough credit here."

The blonde shook her head. "It's not—People with PTSD don't just end up happy. Our problems don't miraculously disappear. We can't choose to just… be okay." Elsa's voice wavered. "It doesn't work that way."

The younger one gave her sister a kind smile. "But Elsa," Anna said tenderly, "I think it doesn't hurt to try."

Elsa stayed quiet, unable to answer. The redhead offered a hug and she accepted it gratefully. "I still don't think I should, Anna," Elsa muttered.

Anna gave her sister a reassuring squeeze. "Elsa, I want to tell you something," she began, letting go and looking Elsa straight in the eye, "You are the strongest person I've _ever _met. You're still in school, you're doing great, and you're not a wreck. You just don't see yourself the way I do."

Elsa shook her head. "Anna—"

The redhead raised a finger. "I'm not done." She continued, "You—Elsa, you're just not giving yourself a chance. I haven't seen you breakdown in so long. Except for the Hans thing." Anna winced in apology. "Sorry about that, by the way."

Elsa said nothing but motioned for her sister to continue.

"Right. Anyway, you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You're doing a marvelous job of recovering."

Elsa sighed. "It's just… sometimes, I—you know, I think I'm okay, but then some days, it's like I'm back to square one."

"Everyone has bad days," Anna told Elsa. "You're allowed to have bad days."

"I don't know what to do," Elsa admitted meekly. Silence settled itself in their conversation.

"You'll know what to do," Anna offered after a moment. "You're Elsa. You always know what to do." Anna flashed her sister a smile and stepped out of the room. "Good night, Elsa. Love you."

"Love you," Elsa replied and shut her bedroom door. She changed into more comfortable sleeping clothes and crawled into bed.

She bumped into her phone along the way and picked it up, contemplating on whether she should reply to the message Jack sent yesterday. She flipped through her menu and brought up the message.

_**From:**__ Jack_

_Hey Elsa :-) How's winter break?_

Elsa bit the inside of her cheek, her thumb hovering over the REPLY button. Minutes later, she thumbed in a reply.

_**To:**__ Jack_

_Hey. :-) It's good. I love winter, so that makes it even better._

The _ping!_ was instantaneous.

_**From:**__ Jack_

_Winter is amazing. You know what makes it so amazing?_

_**To:**__ Jack_

_What?_

_**From:**__ Jack_

_SNOW CASTLES._

Elsa held back a snort and replied her assent, the steady _ping!_s of her phone drawing well into the night.

* * *

_**to be continued**_

* * *

_Hi. _

_So, this chapter was gross and awkward but I swear (read: I hope) it's going to get better. I honestly felt like I had to insert a little apology here at the bottom because this chapter really just… ugh. Sorry again. Definitely wasn't my best work, but this is necessary._

_Anyway, if anyone has questions (plot stuff that isn't too spoiler-y, when I'm going to update, head canons, even little fic requests, etc.), head on over to my tumblr (__**gaolings**__ dot tumblr dot com) and send them to me via ask there! I'd really love to hear from you. :-)_

_Have a good day!_


	5. Chapter 5

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 5_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

When Elsa received the notice that her last class for the day had been cancelled because her professor was called away to an emergency surgery, she headed straight to Burgess Brew.

It was a habit now, for her feet to drag her to the bus stop and down the sidewalks to the familiar coffee shop. The past semester and a half have been awful—junior year was the worst year _ever_—and she'd taken to holing up at the place more often than necessary.

She tightened her scarf around her neck as she walked through the streets. Spring had arrived some time ago but the chill was still dense in the air and as much as she enjoyed the cold, she wasn't risking contracting hypothermia right before midterm season began once more.

Jack was at the counter today, and he smiled at her when she pushed open the door and the bell tinkled above her head. Elsa she waved at him in greeting, heading to her usual spot—

She stopped, staring at the tiny sign with the word RESERVED on her corner of the bar, and she glanced back at the counter. Jack's smile vanished in favor of a slightly mortified expression, biting his knuckle. He quickly pulled Edmund out of the back room (who protested, flailing vehemently) to take his place at the register and rushed over to her.

"Hey, Elsa," he said, voice wobbling. "How are you today?"

"Good," she said, still eyeing the tiny plastic sign. It seemed to gleam mockingly at her. "Hey, Jack, what's—is someone sitting there?"

Jack chuckled nervously. "Uh, no. No, um, no one's sitting there."

"Oh." She frowned. "So… why is that there?" She pointed to the offending sign.

"It's, uh," Jack swallowed. "It's reserved." He mumbled something more, but Elsa couldn't understand it.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jack coughed.

"It's reserved for you," he said shyly, and Elsa's lips twitched.

"Reserved for me?"

"Yeah." Jack took a deep breath, looking anywhere but at Elsa. "I—You always sit there, so thought, you know, you'd like to keep sitting there. So I, um, I mean block it off so you it's free until you get here."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Jack rubbed the back of his head timidly. "I usually remove the sign at around quarter to four, before you usually get here. But I didn't expect you to be here this, um, early."

"I… Yeah, my last class was cancelled today."

Jack laughed, still looking at anything except her. "Ah, that explains it."

Elsa caught Jack's eyes. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Uh." Jack coughed. "A bit after I started working here, I guess."

The corner of Elsa's mouth twitched. "So… around a year."

"I—yeah. Yeah, I guess." Jack blushed and looked at his feet and added in a mumble, "Or more. I think."

Elsa waited until he met her eyes. She smiled at him. "That's really thoughtful of you. Thank you so much, Jack."

Jack shrugged, seemingly nonchalant, but his face was still red. His mouth threatened to break out into a wide grin. "No problem," he said, plucking the sign off the table. She noticed he looked anywhere but at her. "I'll be right back with your usual cake and a coffee." With that, he retreated to the counter.

Elsa nodded gratefully and settled into her spot, unable to wipe the smile off her face.

Jack returned with a tray with food, and told her that she could just pay later. He wasn't able to come by again—the shop was pretty full today, she realized after she went through what she could estimate to be half a ton worth of school work—but before Elsa left the store that evening, she made sure to leave him a pretty large tip and a note that had a smiley on it.

* * *

"Hi, Elsa!" Elsa couldn't stop the smile that graced her lips at Jack's bright-eyed greeting. If she didn't know better, she would assume the guy was trying to compensate for the lack of occupants in the store. "Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon, Jack." Elsa pulled out her wallet.

"The usual?" Jack joked and Elsa giggled, handing him a bill to cover her order.

"Yes, please. But make that coffee."

He mock pouted. "What's wrong with my smoothie?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Jack, you're going to make the coffee anyway."

"Ruin my fun, why don't you?" She snorted and he sighed. "But fine. One slice of chocolate cake and a Frappuccino coming right up." Several beeps and a lot of back room action later, Jack appeared with a tray of her order and set it on the counter.

"Thank you."

"No problem, Elsa." Jack scratched his temple as he handed over her change. "Um, hey. Could I—I, uh, wanted to talk to you."

Elsa felt her heart race, all notions of comfort gone. Her hands started to tremble as she tossed her change back into her wallet, but she willed herself to have a nonchalant façade. "Yes?" she asked, fingers tracing the edges of her tray.

"Well, I just…" Jack trailed off, unable to find the words. "Okay, so, I've been thinking—you've been coming here a lot, and we've been talking, and it's totally cool. Like… really nice. And all. You get me?" He visibly winced, but a twang of worry reverberated within Elsa's chest.

"Okay," Elsa forced out, suddenly feeling faint. Did she do something wrong? "And?"

Oh, no—he didn't want to be friends anymore. She knew it. She _knew_ it, that she would screw up, because she didn't know how to deal with _people_ and now her only friend—the only other person she could actually hold a decent conversation with without running away or bursting into tears, outside of her dorm room and home was going to tell her that he didn't want to be _friends_ anymore—

"And," Jack continued, forcing nonchalance, "well, I would like for you to—"

Elsa gasped before Jack could finish his sentence, gripping the counter for support. Her hairs stood on end with fear, her stomach curling unpleasantly. Jack cried out her name and practically leapt over the counter and supported her with both arms. "I'm—I'm—" Elsa tried, and Jack gently guided her away from the customer area of the shop.

Elsa was limp in his arms, gasping for breath, with a thin film of sweat covering her forehead. This was not happening, this was _not_ happening, this was _not happening_—

"Breathe, Elsa," Jack soothed, gently rubbing her arms. "In through the nose and out through the mouth. Come on, Elsa. In and out."

Elsa focused on getting through the attack, just like she did all those other times. She pretended Jack wasn't there—wasn't there to witness her embarrassing breakdown.

He kept offering her words of comfort and encouragement, helping Elsa through the motions. They were in the back room now, Elsa seated on one of the chairs and Jack hovering over her. He rubbed her back soothingly, a cup of water suddenly materializing in his hand. "You okay?"

Elsa nodded, but her hands were still shaking. "Yeah. Yeah, I-I'm okay." She took a deep breath. "I'm… Sorry you had to see that."

Jack was quiet, awkwardly tossing his weight between his feet. "Uh, how long has been going on? If you don't—I mean, sorry for asking, I was just—"

"It's okay." Elsa shook her head, tilting her head to look at him. "Since I was eighteen."

Jack looked at her, confused. "You've been having panic attacks since you were eighteen."

"Yes."

"And… you have coffee and chocolate all the time?"

Elsa laughed bitterly, lower lip still trembling. "Ironic, huh?" Jack's brow furrowed with concern.

"I don't understand."

Elsa sighed. "Me neither, Jack. Me neither."

Jack handed her the water and she took it without a word, taking careful sips. He patiently waited for her to finish before he spoke. "About what I said…"

Elsa flinched.

"Um, I—wow, this is awkward." Jack laughed nervously. "I was so scared of what you were going to say that it took me completely by surprise."

"Panic attacks tend to do that to people," Elsa mumbled, and Jack chuckled.

"I guess." He gave another nervous laugh. "Is it weird that I'm relieved that at least you didn't…" Jack cleared his throat walked over to the wall in front of her and looked right at her. "Um. Well. Are you okay?"

Elsa nodded and lifted her empty cup of water. "Yeah. I'm okay now."

"Good, great," said Jack. Elsa watched as he fidgeted with his fingers. He took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay."

"Okay," Elsa threw in, and Jack gave her a mock glare.

"Hey," he said, and Elsa giggled. Jack took comfort in the fact that she was back to (mostly) normal. "Can I finish yet?"

Elsa motioned for him to continue.

"As I was saying," Jack went on, still fidgeting. "I would like it… _very much_… if you—um—if you… wentoutwithme."

Elsa's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry—what?"

Jack took a deep breath and this time, pressed his hands to his sides. "I would like it very much if you went out with me." He looked extremely proud of himself for getting it out without shirking.

The smile vanished from Elsa's face. "Oh, Jack, I'm sorry. I'm—"

The way Jack's face morphed from proud to absolutely crestfallen was almost comical. "_No_?" He waved his hands wildly into the air. "I mean, if it's not really your thing—you know, dating, and like finding the love of your life—I mean, not _that_, exactly, but it's cool too, a-and stuff but if isn't your thing then I totally get it but…" Jack looked downright sad, it was almost like watching a puppy being kicked. "_No_?"

Elsa bit her lip, trying not to laugh. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "Jack, it's not… _you_."

"What?"

"I'm not saying no because of _you_. I mean—"

Jack stared at her. "You mean… you."

"Yeah. I mean…" Elsa motioned to herself. "Yeah. You know what you saw. It's not pretty."

Jack nodded, appearing to be considering his options.

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Elsa, you know, I'll still want to go out with you," Jack declared, voice small but certain. Elsa's breath hitched in her throat.

Elsa shook her head. "You shouldn't," she managed. "It's too much trouble—it's not worth it." _I'm _not worth it_,_ she wanted to say but the words died in her throat before they made their way out.

"I think I can decide that for myself," answered Jack, but not unkindly. His face was warm and considerate, patient. "Come on, Elsa. It won't hurt to… try, I guess." Jack paused. "And I'm not just saying that so you would go out with me."

Elsa smiled despite herself. "Right."

Jack shook his head good-naturedly. "Really, Elsa. I meant what I said." He looked at her—really looked at her, and said, "So, Elsa. Will you go out with me?"

Elsa bit her lip, chest pressing painfully as she watched a hopeful glint surface in his eyes. She breathed. "I'll… think about it."

Jack stared at her for a moment and smiled, something gleaming in his bright blue eyes that Elsa couldn't place. "All I could ever ask for."

Later, after she said her good-byes and stepped out into the streets of Downtown Burgess, Elsa realized that what she saw in Jack's eyes was hope. She turned back and saw him waving at her from the counter.

She left without another word.

* * *

"_You should have said yes!"_ Anna practically shrieked into the phone, and Elsa sighed.

"Anna, you know I can't."

"_Why not?!"_

"Because then," Elsa retorted, "he'll have to deal with… all of this."

_"He's going to deal with my babe of a sister! What's so bad about that?"_ The blonde groaned.

"You're really not helping, Anna."

"No," Anna emphasized, "you're _not helping yourself. Come on, Elsa, what's the harm in giving the guy a chance?"_

"What if," Elsa whispered, "What if I really like him after all?" Silence hung heavy in the air.

"_Just_ try, _Elsa_," Anna said gently. "_You never know_."

The blonde stared at the ceiling and huffed. "This conversation did not help me in anyway at all."

"_Oh, it helped plenty. You just refuse to listen." _

Elsa sighed. "Fine, whatever. Good night, Anna."

"_Good night, Elsa! I love you!"_ Elsa mumbled an incoherent reply and pressed the END button. She dropped her phone on the bed and draped an arm over her eyes.

"I agree with your sister." Elsa peeked from under her arm and eyed her roommate.

"You too?" Idina was sprawled on her bed, nonchalantly flipping through a playbill.

"Yeah. Like, what's so bad about this guy that you don't want to give him the time of day?" The dark-haired girl put away the playbill and sat up, crossing her legs under her.

Elsa followed suit and flung her arms into the air. "It's not like I _don't_ want to give him the time of day. I do! I talk to him all the time!"

Idina raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Elsa sighed. "I don't know. I don't want to give him a hard time."

"How could you _possibly_ give him a hard time?"

"Am I the _only one_ paying attention to the whole PTSD thing I've got going on?" Elsa groaned, beyond frustrated. "I'm literally a ticking time bomb for panic attacks."

Idina waved her hand, as if dismissing the notion. "Look, Elsa. I think I see your problem."

"You _think_ you see my problem?" Elsa asked doubtfully.

"But," Idina continued, pointedly ignoring Elsa's commentary, "I think you're not giving yourself enough credit here. The guy obviously likes you—give him a chance."

Elsa's lips formed a small frown. "How do you know that he 'obviously' likes me?" Elsa drew out the word to as if to emphasize how ridiculous it sounded.

"You said it yourself—because you're 'literally a ticking time bomb for panic attacks.'" Idina air quoted the phrase. "You said it yourself. This Jack guy knows you're prone to panic attacks and yet he still wants to stick around. As more than a friend, too." Idina gave Elsa a look that clearly declared who the winner was in this argument. "What does that say about him?"

"I'm—" Elsa began, but no words followed. The blonde merely huffed and buried her face in a pillow.

Idina picked up her playbill and flipped it through it again, looking extremely pleased with herself.

* * *

Jack wasn't at the counter when Elsa came in the next day.

"Hi, Elsa," Edmund greeted warmly, poised to punch in her order. "What'll you have for today?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to Jack." Edmund blinked in surprise.

"Really?" he asked, confused, but collected himself.

Elsa swallowed her nervousness. "Yeah. Is he here?"

Edmund shook his head. "Sorry. Yeah, he's here—I'll go get him." He turned and entered the back room, and seconds later a scruffy-looking Jack burst out of the swinging doors, taking a step before tripping over his feet. Elsa tried to suppress a snicker while he tried to regain his footing. After a moment, Jack looked up at her and made his way to the counter.

"G'morning, Elsa," he mumbled, trying to conceal a yawn behind his hand. Elsa cocked an eyebrow.

"It's four in the afternoon, Jack. Did you just wake up?" Jack nodded, slightly sleepy but trying to keep his eyes wide open.

"Yeah. I had a test today. Slept real late last night." She nodded in understanding. Jack raised his hands and poised them to click on the register. "Okay, what'll you have for today?"

"Yes." Jack furrowed his eyebrows. Paired with the sleepy expression he was sporting, Elsa couldn't help but let a chuckle escape her.

"Excuse me, what?" he asked, clearly still out of it. "I don't think that's on our menu." Elsa bit her lip, trying to keep down her giggles. Needless to say, she failed. "Wha's so funny?" he said blearily, brows furrowing and slightly offended.

Elsa stopped giggling and cleared her throat. "Yes, I'll go out with you."

Jack's face dissolved of all traces of offense and grinned dreamily. "Oh. Okay." After a moment, Jack's eyes bugged and he started sputtering. He latched on to the register and Elsa jumped slightly in surprise. "Wait—" Jack tried in between violent hacks, "—_WHAT_?"

"I'll go out with you," Elsa said, more confident now. The smile that spread on Jack's face threatened to split him in two.

"That's—that's awesome!" Jack said with unbridled joy, and Edmund's and Tooth's heads popped out from the back room from behind Jack. Elsa turned red, startled and embarrassed.

"You're too loud, Romeo," Edmund admonished. Tooth cackled and waved at Elsa, and Elsa waved back timidly. Jack simply waved it off, ignoring Elsa's rosy color.

"Okay." The smile never left Jack's face. "This is—wow. Thanks. For saying yes. This is so cool."

Elsa giggled. "I really didn't do much."

Jack shook his head. "Taking a chance on me is a _huge_ thing. Trust me, I would know." He paused and seemed to realize where he was. "Are movies okay with you? Is Friday okay for you? I'll text you what time and where. Is that okay? Or I'll call you. Yeah, I'll just call you."

Elsa answered before he could keep the one-sided conversation going. "Movies and Friday would be great."

"Great!" Jack stopped. "Did you want to order?" he tried, and Elsa burst into a fit of giggles.

"No, not today. I just came by to tell you that."

Jack smiled at her. "Oh, wow. That's really sweet of you."

"It's really the least I could do." She waved as she left. "Bye, Jack."

"Bye, Elsa!" he called, "See you Friday!"

* * *

Elsa was disheartened yet slightly relieved—okay, mostly relieved—when she decided that the only way she could survive this paper was to cancel her date with Jack.

"I'm really sorry," she said over the phone. For all her relief, Jack's tone which bordered on miserable made her silently curse the professor that gave a surprise paper. Who gives a paper the same day it's due, anyway? "It's due tonight so I have to get to work on it as soon as possible."

"_No, it's okay,"_ Jack said, but his voice pointed out otherwise. "_Things happen_."

"How about next Friday?" she offered, trying her best to alleviate his mood. She couldn't understand why, but she chalked it up to being friends.

It was because they were friends, she decided resolutely, and friends don't set each other up for disappointment.

Jack seemed to brighten at the suggestion. _"Okay. Next Friday's good."_

Elsa smiled. "Great. I'll pass by the café this week and next week, anyway—you won't miss me too much," she teased, and all she heard was a nervous laugh.

"_Hah, funny,"_ he replied lamely, more caught off guard than anything, and Elsa heard him clear his throat. _"I'll see you soon, Elsa. Good luck with your paper!"_

"Thanks. See you." Elsa hung up and stuffed her phone in her pocket. She unlocked the door to her dorm and slipped inside.

Idina was staring right at her. "Who was that?"

Elsa felt herself go red. "That was Jack," she said slowly, setting down her keys on her desk.

The dark-haired girl narrowed her eyes. "Did you just cancel a date?" she accused, and Elsa gaped.

"I have a paper due at midnight," she defended, and Idina scoffed.

"Honey, it is three in the afternoon." Elsa flinched. "You _have_ time for that date!"

"I have a paper!"

Idina folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? How many pages?"

Elsa paused. "Three."

The theater major glared at her roommate. "Then you're _going_ on that date."

Elsa protested. "But—"

"Why don't you want to go out with him?" Idina asked, but this time her tone held no contempt. Elsa bit her lip. "You've been avoiding him." Her roommate knew her better than she expected.

"I—" the blonde was about to say _wasn't avoiding him_, but Idina shot her with a look that basically said Elsa was more transparent than unwrinkled cling wrap. Elsa swallowed and tried anyway. "I wasn't avoiding... _him_."

"You're avoiding the date." Elsa fidgeted.

"I'm… scared."

"Why?"

The words came tumbling out of Elsa's mouth. "What if we aren't okay? What if we shouldn't date?" The blonde barked out a bitter laugh. "The _thought_ of me even dating is ridiculous. Who am I trying to kid, Idina? This isn't going to work."

Idina shook her head, dark tresses flying wildly. "No, Elsa. Stop that. You're not giving yourself enough credit."

Elsa kept quiet.

Idina went on. "You're a pretty great person, okay? You may not realize it—well, not like I tell you this a lot," she added, reconsidering, "But you're really cool to be around. Like, you're this genuinely nice person and it's hard not to like you once you open up a bit." The dark-haired girl gestured to Elsa's form. "And you're getting better. Like, you actually stop having misery sessions."

Elsa's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You know, when you sit down on your bed and just think about stuff and then you get this—this _look_ that makes you look like you're about to cry. You don't do that now. As much, I mean."

"I do not do that!"

"You do." Idina shook her head. "Now, any other reasons why you _shouldn't_ go through with this date?"

"But," Elsa spoke, voice small. "The attacks—"

"Really?" Idina rolled her eyes. "We already went over this. Jack already _saw one_. And, again, he _still_ asked you out."

"Maybe he felt sorry for me," Elsa reasoned. Idina stood up from her bed and walked over to her roommate. She laid two hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Elsa, shut up and cut yourself some slack. This guy genuinely likes you; it's glaringly obvious."

"But—"

Idina made a mad noise. "No buts. You're going on that date."

Elsa cracked a smile. "Thanks," she said, and Idina released her hold.

"You're welcome. Hey, hand me your phone." Elsa blinked and did as she was told, and Idina tinkered with several buttons and returned it.

"What'd you do?" Elsa asked, and her eyes widened at what was on the screen.

_**To:**__ Jack_

_Hey, Jack. About that date, I think I'll be done with my paper early so I'm free at around six. You can come over to my dorm. Does that sound good?_

"_WHAT?_" Elsa exclaimed, voice hitching in her throat and breaths starting to come in pants. She calmed herself and glared at her roommate, who was on the other side of the room, putting on a coat. "_WHAT DID YOU DO_?"

"I did you a favor," Idina said flatly, but her expression was smug. "I'm heading out and coming back probably tomorrow or Sunday, so you have the place to yourself."

"Idina, I swear to every single deity—"

The girl waved her hand as if to flick away the situation. "Really, Elsa, it's done. Get over it."

"You made me sound like I wanted to sleep with him!" Elsa hissed, clearly still not over it. Idina shrugged.

"If that's what you want to do, it's fine by me—just don't get anything on my sheets."

Elsa whimpered and Idina strode to the door. "What about my paper?" Elsa said lamely, and Idina shot her a look.

"I suggest you start working on it." With a sharp bye and a devious smile, the door closed with a resounding click, and the _ping_! echoed through the room.

_**From:**__ Jack_

_Ok. I'll bring over food and movies. I'll call for directions when Im on my way :) see u_

Elsa gave a sharp cry of despair, looking around the room as if trying to find a situational escape hatch. Minutes later, she found nothing. She groaned in defeat and decided that she might as well get her paper done in an hour.

She had to make this fast; her hair was going to take her a while to fix.

Elsa was nervous.

And she had a perfectly good reason to be—she was going on a date. With Jack. She realized belatedly that this date had a lot riding on it; their friendship was on the line, possibly a future relationship (but Elsa shook her head at this, because _really_, Jack and her? He deserved someone so much better), but more importantly their friendship was on the line. If she did something wrong… she didn't even want to think about it.

She'd probably revert to what Idina called "misery sessions."

Some time past six, Jack arrived at Elsa's doorstep with a box of pizza, a box of cookies, two smoothies, a paper bag filled with DVD cases, and huge smile on his face. Almost instantly, all worries of ever screwing up anything vanished.

"Hi," he greeted. She opened her mouth to greet him but she was stopped by some giggling, and she poked her head out of her door to find a couple of freshman a few doors over giggle behind their hands and eye Jack's… well, when she followed their line of vision, she flushed furiously and uncharacteristically glared at them. She instantly let him in, taking some stuff from him.

"No coffee?" she asked, a little too loudly. Jack shot her a look and thankfully paid no mind to her red face.

"I'm not giving caffeine to a girl who is prone to panic attacks." Elsa stuck her tongue out playfully and set the box of cookies on her table.

"Come on, we can stay on my bed." Elsa prayed to every deity that he wouldn't make a snarky comment about it. Jack, thankfully, kept his mouth shut and climbed unto her bed.

"Nice room," he supplied, eyeing the light décor, and Elsa thanked him. Her laptop had been set up and all she did now was hand him the smoothies and open the pizza box. Pulling out a giant pack of tissues, she put it on top of the pizza-less box flap.

"What movies are we watching?"

"Um, I actually bought all of the Disney movies we have at home," he admitted sheepishly. "I figured, you know, it was a safe choice."

The pale-haired boy found Elsa grinning at him. "_Disney_ movies?"

Jack blushed. "Look, if you don't want to—"

"I love Disney movies," Elsa said, crawling onto the bed and sitting next to him. She tried to put some space in between them, and if Jack noticed, he didn't comment on it.

"Oh—well, that's good! That's good." He handed her a smoothie.

"Thanks. What are we watching first?" Elsa asked and Jack shrugged.

"Lady's choice," was all he said, pulling the paper bag of DVDs towards them. Elsa sifted through and fished out one case. "_Toy Story_?"

"Do you have all three?"

Jack faked offense. "What do you mean 'do I have all three'?" He scoffed, darting his hand into the bag and pulling out both DVDs in question. "I'm appalled."

Elsa giggled and took them from him. "How about we watch all three _Toy Story_ movies?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

"I dare you not to cry," Elsa challenged, and something flashed in Jack's eyes.

"You're on."

Four and a half hours later, the pizza was practically gone, the box of cookies diminished to a few measly pieces and the empty smoothie cups were thrown into the trash. Their arms were pressed together as they leaned towards Elsa's laptop screen.

Elsa held a tissue to her sniffling nose, eyes red-rimmed and blinking furiously. The movie ended and Elsa whimpered, pulling away and leaning on the wall behind her.

"Oh my God," she said, and she heard sniffling. She looked to her side and noticed Jack blinking really quickly and hiding his face behind his arm. "Oh my God," she exclaimed. "You're crying! You're actually crying!"

"I'm not," Jack protested, sitting up straighter. "There's just… something in my eye."

Elsa laughed, but it came out muffled. "Yeah, right." She wiped her nose. Jack laughed but it sounded choked.

"I really didn't cry though."

"Okay, so what was that?"

"I really did have something in my eye," Jack defended, and Elsa gave an uncharacteristic snort.

"Yeah, you had something in your eye," Elsa mocked. "You had _feelings_ in your eye, Jack! Just admit you cried!"

Jack laughed and shook his head, "No, I didn't cry!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Liar."

"But it really was a good movie. It hurts more because it's meant for people our age—people who grew up with the movie." Elsa nodded and before she could notice, they were immersed in deep conversation. Elsa didn't know how long they talked—it could have been fifteen minutes or five hours, but she didn't want it to stop. They talked about the movie to a bunch of other things, and Elsa felt herself actually feel… easy, even _comfortable_ around Jack.

He didn't mention anything about the attacks, didn't pester her about anything personal. Elsa was grateful.

The only time Jack ever mentioned leaving was when her eyelids started dropping.

"I should probably go." He yawned when Elsa did, and they both chuckled.

"Are you sure? Is it safe to be driving this…" Elsa glanced at the wall clock above the door. "It's three in the morning?!"

"What?" Jack twisted his neck so quickly that something cracked. "Wow. How'd it get that late?"

Elsa shook her head and got up, picking up stray tissues. Jack joined her in her clean up, whacking the bed free of pizza bits. Elsa found a trash bag and stuffed it with their mess. Jack offered to carry it downstairs so Elsa could go to sleep, but she was adamant that she at least walk him to the dorm lobby.

"That was fun," Jack admitted when he threw out the trash bag at the dumpster on the side of the building, and he looked at Elsa. "This was a good first date." They walked back to the entrance, the dim light casting shadows over their faces.

Elsa didn't realize she was smiling. "Yeah. It was, wasn't it?" Silence fell over them and Elsa frowned. "Are you sure it's safe to be driving this late? You can spend the night you know." She blushed furiously and opened her mouth to say No, not that way, but it seemed that Jack was too focused on trying to stay awake to pay attention to any innuendo that may have arisen from the conversation.

"Nah, it's okay. I'll be fine." He yawned and slapped his cheek lightly. "I'll get home all right."

Elsa didn't quite believe him, but there wasn't much she could do except nod her head lamely. "At least text me when you get home."

Jack nodded and smiled, mildly sleepily at her. "I had fun."

"Me too," Elsa said, smiling back at him. He leaned down slightly and her stomach coiled pleasantly, waking her up.

"May I?" he asked, blue eyes gentle, and Elsa nodded meekly. He raised his hand and his fingers caressed her cheek. Her eyes closed, preparing for—

Elsa felt his lips brush her cheek and she opened her eyes. He pulled away, grinning sheepishly at her.

He stood in front of her, hands at his sides. "I like you a lot, Elsa," he whispered and Elsa felt more awake than ever.

"I like you a lot, too," she admitted faintly, without thinking, and Jack smiled.

"That makes me really happy." He leaned in closer, pressed a kiss to her forehead. Elsa felt her heart hammer in her chest.

Before he could pull away, Elsa latched on to the sleeve of his hoodie. She pulled herself up and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Good night, Jack," she whispered, blushing lightly.

"Good night, Elsa. See you soon." With that, Jack walked back to his car and drove off.

When Elsa got back to her room, she reached for her phone. It flashed a message that had been sent four hours ago.

_**From:**__ Anna_

_WHAT HAPPENED?_

Elsa groaned and sluggishly changed into more comfortable clothes, and when she crawled into bed her phone _ping!_-ed.

_**From:**__ Jack_

_I am alive. Good night and sweet dreams :)_

Elsa went to sleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

_Since this one was so long, it took me a while to finish revising. Just a heads up to my lovely readers, I'll be busy starting next week so I can't dedicate as much time to this story anymore, but if you like Hiccup/Astrid memory loss AUs, you can head on over to my tumblr (link on my profile), and check out ficlets I write there under the double asterisk (**) tag._


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so fair warning: I had to rewrite a scene here, so you can just leave any construction issues in the text and I'll get to it ASAP.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 6_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

The first person Elsa saw after her date with Jack was Hiccup when she accidentally bumped into him at the convenience store they had on campus the next day.

The morning sun was high and bright in the sky, making Elsa shield an arm over her eyes and look at the floor. Before she knew it, she bumped into someone by the entrance of the minimart.

"Sorry," she apologized, and looked up at person she hit. "Oh! Hey, Hiccup."

"Elsa!" he greeted, green eyes brightening. "How are you?"

"Good," she answered politely. "And you?" She eyed the sizable bags in his hands and Hiccup coughed.

"Ah, well, I'm on boyfriend duty," he said, tugging them up slightly. The bags dangled lightly as he spoke, following is incessant habit of shrugging and swinging his arms a lot whenever he spoke. Elsa smiled warmly.

"That's sweet."

"Thanks. I'm hoping it's going to come across as sweet to Astrid, too." Hiccup's lips curled into a smirk. "Oh, yeah—how was your date?"

The blonde swore her face turned from pale to burning in record time. "You know?"

He shrugged. "Of course, I know. I mean, I know you had a date. But I also kind of want to know how it went."

"Oh." Well, Elsa didn't know what to say to that. "Um. It was—fine, I guess."

Hiccup looked oddly dismayed. "Just… fine?

Elsa blushed some more. "Okay, it went great. I think. At least, it did for me."

He gave a relieved laugh. "That's good. Wouldn't want him moping." He smiled at Elsa. "Jack won't stop talking about you, you know."

Elsa thought it wasn't possible to get any redder. "I—ah. Uh, that's, um. Well." She swallowed. "Thanks?"

"He's a good guy," Hiccup supplied, politely ignoring Elsa's flustered expression, "How long have you known him?"

Elsa shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "Around a year, I think. More or less."

"I see." Hiccup motioned to the bags he was carrying. "Well, I gotta go head back to the dorms. See you around! And tell Jack 'hi' for me!"

"All ri—wait, why me?" she asked, but Hiccup was long gone.

* * *

"_YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED."_ Elsa held the phone at arm's length and squeezed her eyes in shock—Anna had all but screamed into the phone when she picked up. _"ELSA, WHAT HAPPENED?"_

Elsa pressed speaker and lowered the volume, setting the phone down next to her on the bed. "Anna, relax. We just watched movies."

"_Movies as in plural? What did you watch?"_ Elsa opened her mouth but then Anna squealed again. _"ELSA, TELL ME!"_

"I WILL," Elsa snapped, uncharacteristically raising her voice but really Anna was getting _extremely_ annoying. "JUST LET ME FINISH."

Idina was cackling from her desk, history books laying practically forgotten on the desktop. Elsa scowled at her roommate.

"_Is that Idina?"_ Anna asked over the phone. _"HI, IDINA."_

"Hey, Anna," Idina greeted, the words practically getting lost in her hoots, "How are you?"

"_I'm good! Did Elsa tell you about the date yet?"_

Idina sputtered as laughs tried to escape her closed lips. "Not yet."

"_I am right here_," Elsa ground out, and Idina wiped tears from her eyes, hands shaking, dropping her pen in the process.

"Oh, my—oh, God, I can't breathe—I can't—" Idina dropped from her chair and crawled over to her bed, body shaking as she laughed all the way. She hoisted herself up with trembling arms and grabbed her pillow, shoving it into her face to control her howls of laughter.

"Shut up!" Elsa ordered, turning red in the face. Idina did the exact opposite and laughed louder.

"_Elsa, just tell me already!"_ Anna whined, voice carrying from the phone. Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Will you promise not to interrupt?"

Elsa could practically hear her sister salute from the other end. _"Aye aye, captain."_

Idina's hollers quieted down as she, too, listened in to Elsa's retelling of her Friday night, accompanied by Anna's enthusiastic squeals and '_aww_'s and '_oh_'s and everything in between. Elsa left out the kiss on the cheek while restating the events of the date—she didn't want her sister to start planning a wedding just yet.

Which sounds like an exaggeration, but no. Anna's that type of person.

"_So when's the second date?"_ asked Anna when Elsa finished.

"Um… there's none?"

"_There's no second date?"_ Anna and Idina asked in unison. Elsa's eyes flashed to her roommate's.

"None…?" Elsa finished, tone rising uncertainly. Idina scowled.

"Why not?"

"_There _has_ to be!"_ Anna whined, voice crackling through the speaker. _"You had such a good time! It sounded like you had such a good time!"_

"I don't want to rush it," Elsa defended lamely, and Idina rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You should text him." The blonde sputtered at the suggestion.

"What? Why? I don't—"

"_Idina's right, Elsa,"_ said Anna. _"He's probably just waiting for you to let him know that you want to talk to him."_

"But why?"

"He thinks he's going to be a creep if he keeps chasing after you," Idina said matter-of-factly.

"_Yeah—he suggested the date and all, so he doesn't want to take the chance and scare you off by being too forward."_

Elsa looked at her phone, then to her roommate, and back. "Did you guys talk before this or something?"

Idina waved a hand, dismissing the question while Anna just giggled. It did nothing to placate Elsa, but the blonde shoved the thought to the back of her head.

"Did he text you after?" Idina asked seriously.

Elsa considered. "Um, yeah? He texted me when he got home."

"I see." Idina looked to be in deep thought.

Elsa chanced to speak. "So what do I do?"

"_Hang up and call him!"_ Anna suggested brightly, and then added after a moment's pause, _"Or, you know, text, that's cool, too—"_

"Just contact him," Idina suggested. "He'll appreciate it."

Elsa's encounter with Hiccup flashed briefly across her memory. "I don't—"

"_You should! It's worth a try, at least. Oh, gotta go,"_ Anna said. _"Kristoff's here."_

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Elsa said automatically. She knew her younger sister wouldn't do anything—and Kristoff was much too afraid of Elsa to _try_ anything—but it came out of her mouth like a reflex.

"_That's a really long list,"_ Anna dead-panned. _"And besides, aunt Jen and uncle Chris are here. Nothing's going to happen."_

"Right." Elsa's tone was dripping with sarcasm. "That's gonna stop you, sure."

If it was possible to hear someone roll their eyes over the phone, then Elsa heard Anna roll hers. _"Whatever. Okay, bye, Elsa! Love you!"_

"Bye, Anna. Love you, too."

"_Bye, Idina!"_ Idina merely clicked her tongue in reply and the line went dead, flashing back to Elsa's home screen.

"Call him," Idina said, and Elsa huffed.

"I really don't know if I should."

Idina rolled her eyes. "He's into you, honey. He'll probably have premature ejaculation just by seeing your name on his phone."

Elsa's cheeks burned. _"Idina!"_

Idina shrugged and walked over to her desk, picking up her books and stuffing them haphazardly into a bag. "Just saying." She picked up a cardigan and slung the bag over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go to the library. Later."

Elsa waved half-heartedly and watched the door shut. She sighed and looked down at the phone on her bed. After a moment, picked it up.

_**To:**__ Jack_

_Hi. Sorry for the late text, but I had fun last Friday. Thank you :-)_

The reply came not a minute later.

_**From:**__ Jack_

_Hey! I'm glad to hear that :) How are you? Did you sleep well?_

* * *

The month that followed the date was spent in the coffee shop, mostly just talking and occasionally doing homework together when Jack could take a break or if the shop was slow.

Jack didn't ask her out anytime soon, but Elsa didn't let it get to her. She convinced herself that Jack was just interested in being friends, which made her slightly disappointed, but it was his decision in the end. And Elsa had fun with him, anyway, and that's what mattered, she supposed.

Her birthday crept up on her as per usual, and because she wasn't much of a celebrating type she didn't really keep track. Anna, however, was the absolute celebrating type, so the younger girl had all but demanded that Elsa go home for her birthday weekend. It would be just the two of them, but that was fine for the blonde.

Elsa had just gone back from the restroom and picked up her phone on the counter, and seeing no new notifications, she set it back down and turned to her sister, who was wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "How are the cookies?"

"I just put them in the oven," answered Anna. "They still have about an hour and a half." The redhead set aside the dishtowel. "Wanna go watch something while we wait?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow. Her sister was acting suspicious, but the blonde decided to let it slide. She shrugged and walked to the living room. "Sure." Elsa switched on the TV and flipped through channels, finding one to decide on. "Cartoons?"

"Why not?" Anna answered from the kitchen.

Anna practically skipped into the living room. They didn't end up watching cartoons—Anna didn't find anything adequately entertaining, so for the next hour they settled on a show where people were running through a padded obstacle course.

"I love this show," Anna snorted when a contestant failed to launch off a rotating slide at the right time and fell miserably into the water. Elsa chortled her agreement, outright cackling when another contestant failed to time his jump off of a rotating bridge and slammed face first into a padded wall and slid down comically, plopping into the water.

The smell of cookies wafted into the room and the timer gave a sharp _ding!_ prompting Anna to walk into the kitchen and pull on oven mitts. Elsa stayed to watch more TV, but then a dull phone ring carried throughout the house.

"Is that my phone?" Elsa called.

"No, it's mine," came Anna's reply. The younger girl's voice was low and hushed and Elsa decided that her sister was _definitely_ suspicious. Before she could walk to the kitchen, the doorbell rang and she heard Marshmallow bark soon after.

"Were you expecting anyone?" Elsa's asked as she walked to the door, but Anna didn't answer. The redhead darted to the living room right when Elsa opened the door, surprised to find Jack standing outside, holding a pizza box and a two rather large paper bags.

"Hi," he said, "Happy birthday!"

Elsa blinked in confusion, stunned. "How did you—" She sharply turned to her sister. "You."

Anna grinned wickedly, not a hint of remorse on her features, and handed over Elsa's cellphone. "You're welcome."

Elsa snatched her phone back turned to the boy in the doorway. "Hi." She eyed the things in his hands. "What's all this?"

"I felt bad that I had no clue it was your birthday," he admitted, "So I bought pizza, whipped up some smoothies and brought a cake. Oh, and I brought movies, too." Jack looked past her and smiled at a grinning redhead. "You must be Anna."

"Nice to meet you," she quipped, and Elsa shot her sister a look.

"You did this," Elsa said to her sister, but not as an accusation. Anna simply shrugged. She turned back to Jack. "I'm so sorry for the trouble—"

Jack shook his head and spoke before she could continue. "It's really no trouble. Least I could do for your birthday."

Elsa just continued to stare at him. Anna coughed, breaking Elsa's train of thought, and she blushed. "Sorry," Elsa said, stepping aside to let him in. Marshmallow trotted along behind him, tongue out and tail wagging. She blinked at the dog, taken aback.

She caught the flash in Anna's bright blue eyes and her sister smiled meaningfully. "I'm going to go call Kristoff." She bolted up the stairs to her room, leaving Elsa and Jack and Marshmallow in the living room.

Jack's voice broke her trance. "Where do I put this?"

Elsa shook her head. "Sorry. Let me get that." She took the pizza box and headed into the kitchen, Jack trailing behind her.

"Nice house," he offered. "Are those cookies?"

"Thank you. And yes, they are. You can get some." Jack placed the things on the counter and picked up a piece, stuffing the whole thing in his mouth. With a smile, she set the things down on the kitchen counter and picked up her phone. She stuffed it into her jeans pocket and turned to Jack.

"Wow, these are good," he asked after he swallowed, blue eyes catching hers. "Where are your parents?" Elsa visibly paled and Jack panicked. "Oh, shit—I'm so sorry, I didn't—"

Elsa shook her head and put a hand over her heart. "It's… complicated."

Jack nodded, staying quiet.

They stood awkwardly in Elsa's kitchen for an indeterminate amount of time, before Jack broke the silence. "So," he said cautiously, "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

Elsa shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I don't really care much for celebrating. Anna's the one who gets worked up about it."

"You still should have told me," he said, "I could've made you a video greeting and everything. I have a lot of footage of Bunny sleeping in the back room on my phone."

Elsa wanted to ask why a sleeping Edmund would make for an effective birthday greeting, but instead she folded her arms and shot him a mock disapproving stare. "That's hardly necessary, Jack."

"Footage of Bunny in embarrassing situations is always necessary," he said seriously, and Elsa laughed.

Marshmallow yipped from his spot next to Jack, and Elsa tilted her head. Jack leaned down and stroked the pet's chest, and Elsa heard the rapid thumping of the dog's hind leg mixed with his loud breathing.

"He likes you," Elsa said, more to herself than to Jack.

He looked up. "Your dog's really nice. Marshmallow, right?" Elsa nodded. "He was growling at me when I got down from my car, but then after I set foot in your lawn he just started wagging his tail and barking at me, running around. I think it's 'cause I brought a lot of food." He looked down at Marshmallow and rubbed harder. "But chocolate's bad for dogs, Marshmallow!" he chided jokingly.

She smiled fondly when Marshmallow rolled over, exposing his belly to Jack. The blue-eyed boy dove and scratched the mutt all over, Marshmallow making sounds of joy as he writhed happily on the floor.

"Marshmallow's a pretty good judge of character," Elsa said, and a flash of familiarity hummed in her chest.

Jack looked at her, smiling. "Yeah?"

The doorbell rang again, and Anna's voice carried over all the way from upstairs. "I'll get it!"

Jack strode out of the kitchen when Anna called his name, and Marshmallow got up to follow behind him. Elsa clicked her tongue before the pet could leave.

"Marshmallow," she called, and Marshmallow obediently trotted over to his master. She patted him on the head affectionately. "You like him, don't you, boy?"

The mutt just looked at her with unassuming eyes, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Jack popped into the kitchen again and walked to her.

"You okay, Elsa?" he said, leaning over to brush his knuckles on the dog's head. Marshmallow closed his eyes in delight. Elsa looked at Jack.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Elsa! We're watching one of Jack's movies!" Anna shrieked.

"Happy birthday, Elsa!" Kristoff called.

"Thanks, Kristoff," she replied. "What movie are we watching?" she asked Jack. He fished out the DVD case from one of the paper bags and handed it to her.

"_Legally Blonde_."

"What? No Disney?" Elsa teased, making Jack roll his eyes.

"You want to watch something else?"

Elsa grinned. "No, it's fine—I like that movie," she said and Jack beamed.

"I had a feeling." He picked up the pizza box. "Come on, let's go celebrate your birthday."

Marshmallow happily trotted behind them.

* * *

Anna smirked at her sister from across the hall when Elsa walked out of the bathroom.

"What?" Elsa asked, and Anna's eyes flashed.

"You should be thanking me," the redhead asserted, and Elsa rolled her eyes.

"For inviting Jack over? Hardly."

"You like him, Elsa."

The blonde sighed. "Anna—"

"I notice the way you talk to him."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "And how do talk to him?"

"You _talk_ to him, Elsa," Anna said quietly, "That's my point."

Elsa's face fell. "Anna, I'm…"

"It's okay," the redhead said, shrugging. "I get it."

"I'm sorry," Elsa sighed. "I never… I don't know how."

"It's okay, Elsa, really." Anna placed a hand on her older sister's arm comfortingly. "As long as Jack brings it out of you, it's fine with me."

Elsa was quiet.

"And he likes you, too," Anna added, and Elsa stared at her sister. "That's why I invited him over. Elsa, a month-long interval between dates is slightly disappointing."

The older one frowned. "I just don't want to assume—"

"Well, _he's_ going to assume _you're_ not interested," Anna stated matter-of-factly, "And I know for a fact that you are quite interested." Whatever retort Elsa was prepared to fire died in her throat. Anna smiled at her sister kindly. "Kristoff left since he was called home by his mom. You should keep Jack company." With that, she strode past her sister and shut the bathroom door, leaving a stunned Elsa in her wake.

"Hey," Elsa said when she descended the stairs. "Kristoff left?"

Jack looked up at her and nodded as he scratched the back of Marshmallow's head. The dog's leg thumped steadily on the floor. "Yeah, his mom called or something."

Elsa hummed in understanding and settled next to him on the couch. Marshmallow stretched when Jack pulled his hand away and rushed to the kitchen.

"Today was fun," Elsa said, breaking the silence. Jack beamed at her.

"Yeah?" he asked, and she nodded. "I was scared of how you would react after I, you know, popped up unexpectedly."

"It's not really your fault. It's Anna's." Jack laughed at the sour look Elsa issued up the stairs when she finished her sentence.

"She means well," he said.

"Yeah." Elsa nodded and their eyes met. "Jack," she said, nearly forcing it out just to break the silence, "Thank you for coming over. I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"I—" Jack scratched his cheek. "It wasn't. I mean—I wanted to. You know, come over." He stopped and his cheeks burned, but he turned to her with his eyes brimming with determination. "I want to ask you something."

Elsa grinned. Jack looked adorable. "What is it?"

"I guess—I mean—it's been a while, like a month and, well—" Jack scratched the back of his head in frustration before flashing her a bashful smile. "Sorry. That went a whole lot better in my head."

"You can try again," she offered patiently, and Jack nodded.

"Yeah." He took a breath. "Here it goes."

She smiled at him. "Go on."

"I had fun today," he said.

"Me too."

"I also had fun… last time," he said tentatively, and Elsa felt her cheeks begin to burn. When she said nothing, Jack cleared his throat. "I… This is fun. Hanging out with you is fun. Even not-dates. Even if we're just hanging out at the coffee shop and not watching Disney movies by ourselves and just talking. Even sitting down next to you and studying."

"Yeah," Elsa said meekly.

"Just… hanging out with you is fun," he repeated, "And I—well, I'd like to… you know, keep hanging out with you."

Elsa laughed, trying to mask her nervousness. "I'm flattered."

"Yes, well." Jack chuckled, his uneasiness more apparent. "I was hoping that… you would, too."

Elsa paused. "What?"

"I have fun with you, Elsa," Jack said, much more confident now. "I had fun with you on our date, and maybe we should go on another one. Is… that okay with you?"

Elsa blinked at Jack's hopeful expression. "Y-Yeah. I'd like that."

Jack coughed. "Cool, cool. Um," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, and all traces of confidence disappeared. "And how about, uh, more dates… after…?"

Elsa felt the corner of her lip twitch. "What are you…?"

"Sorry!" Jack blurted, seemingly cracking under the tension. He was comically red in the face. "I'm—sorry. I don't, um—I don't really, uh… date. Consecutively, I mean. With the same person." He whipped his hand to slap his forehead and muttered, "Great, now I sound like a total asshole."

"Kind of." Elsa smiled at him warmly. "But keep going."

Jack smiled at her crookedly. "You're being really nice to someone who is completely ruining his chances at getting another date."

Elsa laughed, finding his nervousness more endearing than anything. "I wouldn't say _completely_ ruining…"

Jack's face froze, stunned, before his mouth spread in a wide grin. He then coughed and proceeded to look serious, but the smile just wouldn't leave his lips. "Really?" Jack took her hand. Her cheeks burned with anticipation.

"You still have a pretty good chance, if I do say so myself," she almost whispered.

"In that case," Jack said lowly, "I'd really like to go out with you again, Elsa," he said, sure this time. His tone was gentle and friendly, and Elsa felt a shiver of delight creep up her spine.

"I'd like that, too," she replied, the corners of her lips curling. His smile was contagious.

"And maybe…" Jack eyed her expectantly. "Maybe… we can keep seeing each other." His statement sounded more like a question, but Elsa guessed he was just being polite about it.

The delightful shiver propelled her answer. "That sounds nice," she replied before her nerve could leave her.

"It does?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you," he said sincerely. Elsa's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Why are you thanking me?" she asked, and Jack leaned forward even further.

"Because you're giving me a chance to get to know you," he said honestly.

"There's not much to get to know, really," Elsa replied. He placed a chaste kiss to her cheek and pulled back.

Jack smiled. "Doesn't seem that way to me."

* * *

_**to be continued**_

* * *

_So this fic officially has a deleted scene! Anyone want to see it?_

_Also I got a bunch of trivia for you guys about this fic—like where I got certain names, certain places, how long it took me to whatever, etc. Tell me if you want to read it!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! Sorry this took a while. I went over the story again and realized that fucked up my formatting and screwed up my editing, so I went to fix it. They're small changes, so you don't really have to bother going back and re-understanding the story. But if you want to, by all means go ahead!**

**Anyway, if you follow me on Tumblr (notkorras), you'll see I've got a surprise up for you guys! Trivia is up (under the tag 'recover trivia'—yes, I am very creative). I'm posting them by chapter so it's pretty short but I hope you all enjoy it anyway.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 7_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

They did go out more after talking about it, Elsa noted.

They didn't really go out on dates, where grand gestures of romance were displayed, but they hung out a lot—and they talked a lot. So they generally spent more time together (mostly at Jack's insistence) than they did before, getting to know each other more than they already do (like how Jack really enjoys cooking and basically anything that has to do with food while Elsa was a pretty good figure skater when she was younger) and Elsa was comfortable with it. She liked this—this talking and close proximity. It made her heart race and her stomach coil nicely.

But she had to admit that it cut into her errand time.

"You don't have to come with me," Elsa pointed out for what was probably the hundredth time. Jack merely rolled his eyes and resigned his answer—_it's no problem, Elsa, I really don't mind_—and just followed her as she walked along the sidewalk. Jack had insisted that he come along on her trip to buy her medication, and her chest warmed pleasantly. A few months ago, she would have been mortified at the prospect. Now she's... well, she's not _happy_ about it, per se, but she's okay with it.

Things have changed.

The drugstore they approached was a small space in a building, plain with just the words Red Med on top of the door. Jack jogged up ahead of Elsa and opened the door for her.

She blushed. "Thanks."

Jack grinned in return. "No problem."

Elsa strode to the counter, where a girl was fixing boxes of medications with their backs to them. "Hi, Tracy." The brunette turned and beamed.

"Elsa!" Tracy plucked out a box of Xanax from the shelf and moved to the register. "How are you?"

"Good," Elsa said conversationally, and Tracy's eyes snapped to Jack.

"Oh, really now?" she teased, making Jack cough and Elsa blush.

"Tracy, this is Jack," Elsa introduced. "Jack, Tracy."

Jack extended his hand. "Nice to meet you." Tracy smiled and shook his hand.

"Likewise, I'm sure." Tracy was about to say something more but something cut the quiet air with a sharp trill. Jack started fumbling with his jacket pockets.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized and pulled out his phone. "It's my brother," he said to Elsa, "I'm gonna go take this." He flashed a smile at Tracy. "It was nice to meet you!"

Tracy simply waved and flashed Elsa a look. "So." Tracy let the syllable roll of her tongue and fly into the air. Elsa felt herself turn redder, if it were possible.

"We're friends," was all Elsa said, not meeting her friend's eyes. Tracy laughed.

"Sure," Tracy said, clearly not believing it. She punched in Elsa's purchase and handed her the box. Elsa reached for it and tugged, but Tracy didn't let go. "He seems nice."

Elsa's eyes rose to meet Tracy's. "He is," she admitted. Even if the relationship was… unclear, she was certain that above all else, Jack was her friend.

"He seems good to you." The brunette looked at her meaningfully. Elsa's lips twitched into a smile.

"He is, isn't he?" she said, almost to herself. Tracy smiled and let go of the paper envelope. Elsa tucked it away.

"Take care, Elsa." Elsa's brows furrowed.

"You make it sound like I'm not coming back," she laughed. Tracy giggled.

"I have a feeling you're in good hands." Elsa followed Tracy's eyes and watched Jack laugh while on the phone.

"Thank you, Tracy," said Elsa sincerely, before giving her friend a smile and walking out.

"All right—bye, Jamie," Jack said finally, and Elsa came through the door. "Sorry I took so long—Jamie wouldn't shut up." Elsa laughed lightly.

"No problem." Elsa matched Jack's stride when they started walking. The sky was filled with a dusky pink, purple threatening to break over the horizon. "Where to?"

Jack's face twisted in thought. He stopped walking and Elsa followed suit. "I actually have no idea." He faced her. "What are you up for?"

She lifted her shoulders. "I'm up for… anything," she said uncertainly.

Jack spoke after a moment. "Do you want to go to my house?"

Elsa blinked. "Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude—"

Jack shook his head. "Jamie's at a sleepover, Sophie's also at a sleepover, and my mom's… at a sleepover, too, I think." Elsa shoved Jack's shoulder with a laugh. Jack chuckled. "I'm kidding. But my mom's not home—she's on a business trip. So I have the house to myself this evening."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning something?"

Jack smirked. "Maybe," he teased and Elsa rolled her eyes but her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"You're not getting lucky," she declared despite her blush. Jack simply chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"That depends on how you define lucky." Before Elsa could ask him what that meant, Jack pulled her into the direction of his home. He'd forgone the car today so his mom could play chauffer on her trip.

The trip to Jack's house was short but filled with conversation. When they reached the small, quaint cottage-like house, he pushed open the door and let her in.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Jack announced as he opened the main door to his house in a flourish. Elsa stepped in and nodded at the pleasant, homey feeling.

"It's lovely," she commented, eyeing the warm colors with favor. The curtains were a warm gold and the walls were a lovely shade of peach. Jack gestured her to sit on the dark red couch and took her bag and set it on the wooden table at the foyer.

Elsa sighed in contentment as she sunk down on the plush couch.

"Do you want anything?" she heard vaguely from the direction of what she guessed was the kitchen.

"Some water would be fine, thank you," she replied, and shortly after Jack came in with two glasses of water. He handed one to her and she took a sip. "Thanks."

"So," he began, sitting next to her, "What do you wanna do?"

Elsa chuckled. "Um. I have no clue." She paused. "Don't take that as an excuse to try anything with me."

Jack stared for a minute, stunned, before laughing out loud.

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"Noth—no, ah—I just never pegged you for the kind of person to say something like that," he said, shaking his head. Elsa blushed.

"Oh, well, I'm—"

"Don't worry. It was nice," he said, patting her shoulder.

Elsa nodded timidly. "I guess I'm just… I don't know. Not used to being so… I don't know—free."

Jack shot her a meaningful look. "Do you… want to talk about it? I'm willing to listen."

Elsa looked like she was about to say no, but something in her gut made her set the glass down on the wooden coffee table in front of her and pull off her shoes to settle into the couch. Jack set his glass down and leaned back, eyes on her.

She took a deep breath and looked at her hands. "Yes, actually. I do want to talk about it."

And so she began. She talked about the Accident, about her PTSD, everything that really just… sucked. How she had to handle everything on her own. How she had to grow up faster than she liked. How she never wanted Anna to feel what she felt.

How she never really had anyone she could talk to.

She spoke vaguely as if these things didn't matter, but she knew that Jack was first and foremost her friend. And he _cared_.

True to his word, he didn't press any issues. He listened as she talked and babbled and deviated and ranted, opening his mouth only to ask questions to things he didn't understand. But all in all, he kept his mouth shut and his eyes on her.

Elsa didn't remember the last time she felt so… allowed.

But at the same time, her heartbeat steadily rose and her palms started to get sweaty. Elsa could feel the words pouring fast but in slurs, tears pricking the backs of her eyes and falling without permission. Her breath started to hitch and her voice started to gradually grow hoarse. This wasn't the first panic attack that crept up on the both of them without warning.

But it still took Jack by surprise.

His eyes were wide in alarm and Elsa's hands were shaking so hard that he gently gripped her wrists. Elsa was gasping now, and Jack was saying something she couldn't hear over the blood rushing in her ears and her heart thudding in her chest.

Despite the chaos that Elsa felt, looking at Jack made her feel better, somehow. Like everything was going to be okay.

He held her face in his hands and kept his blue eyes trained on her own and she her heart slowed, as if giving her a chance to hear him.

"You'll be okay," he said gently, "You're gonna be fine, Elsa. You'll be okay."

Jack didn't stop until her breathing was back to normal and her tears came in slow trickles instead of steady streams. He asked if she was okay and she nodded slowly, smiling and embarrassed. Jack lightly rubbed his thumbs under her eyes and wiped away a tear before pulling away. Elsa wiped her cheek and looked down.

"Sorry," she apologized again in a whisper.

His eyes caught hers. "S'okay," he whispered back, smiling at her.

Silence engulfed them, stretching on for hours (or maybe minutes, no one could tell at this point), before Jack spoke.

"I'm," Jack paused, searching for the word, "happy you trust me enough to tell me… this." Elsa watched his fingers as he tentatively reached for her hand. His hand hovered over her pale one and she raised her eyes to meet his once again.

"I'm glad I got to tell someone," Elsa murmured, raising a finger to touch his palm. He didn't move. "I'm glad I got to tell you."

"I'm glad you told me." His eyes never left their hands. "You can tell me anything," Jack implored, meaning every word. Elsa smiled, a small curve of the lips, and turned her hand over. Her palm faced his.

"Thank you," she said, meaning every word, too, and pressed her hand to his. Jack smiled and curled his fingers, warming her skin.

"No," he whispered, smiling. "Thank _you_, Elsa."

They sat there for a few minutes, comfortably holding hands until Jack spoke again. "So what do you want to do now?"

Elsa laughed outright. "I don't know—I honestly can't think of anything."

Jack paused, thinking. "Want to go up to my room?" he suggested.

Elsa cocked an eyebrow. "What are you planning?"

Jack laughed. "Nothing! Come on." He got up and tugged at her hand, and she followed suit. Her socks padded quietly across the floor and on the stairs as they made their way up. A moment later Elsa entered a white door that revealed blue walls, but before she could look anymore, she was pushed out.

"What?" she said in surprise, and Jack let go of her hand and closed the door in her face.

"I'll clean up a bit!" he cried, flustered, "Give me a minute!" She laughed and a few minutes later, the door opened. "Come on," Jack invited, bringing her into his room.

The walls were a dark, rich blue. Elsa walked to his bed, sitting on the edge of it. Jack nudged her to move in and she found herself lying on comfy grey sheets. He picked up his laptop from his desk and plugged it in a nearby socket. His shoes made thumps on the floor and he crawled into bed, setting the laptop in front of them. Elsa sat up.

"What do you want to watch?" Jack said, opening up a folder named DISNEY. Elsa laughed.

"Why do you have an entire folder of Disney movies?"

"Why not?" Jack retorted.

"Why Disney?" Elsa asked again, and Jack's cheeks burned. She pressed her lips together.

"I thought it could be a thing we have," he said tentatively. "Like… every time we have these things. Disney seems like a good idea."

"It is," she said, but she pressed on. "But what's this… thing?"

Jack blushed harder, his neck turning an interesting shade of pink. "You know. Our…" Jack made an awkward shrug. "You know."

"I really don't," she said, half honest and half teasing, and Jack threw her a desperate look.

"You know, this—never mind," Jack breathed, pressing BACK. Elsa chuckled. "What movie do you want to watch?" he asked, but it came out as more of a grouse.

"Do you…" Elsa began, browsing the list of movies. "Is that—it's _A Walk to Remember_! Oh my gosh!"

Jack scrambled to exit the page. "No!" he cried, "That's my sister's! It's not mine!"

Elsa was practically in tears, her guffaws uninhibitedly pouring from her mouth. When she finished, Jack's face was sour. "Aw, I'm sorry, Jack."

"It's my sister's," he grumbled, and Elsa pressed her lips together in an attempt to ward off another chuckle.

"Okay, it's your sister's," she conceded, but Jack didn't look happy. She rolled her eyes and scanned the movie list again. "Hey, you have High School Musical!"

"That's my sister's, too."

Elsa laughed and shook her head. "Let's watch that!"

Jack stared at her, unimpressed. "Seriously?"

Elsa nodded. "We can sing along to it," she suggested, and Jack shook his head.

"No, thanks." He brought up the movie. "I only have the second, though."

"You mean your sister only has the second," Elsa quipped, and Jack took a deep, annoyed breath in her direction. She cackled. "I'm kidding!"

"Whatever," he grumbled and the movie started playing. Elsa laid her hand next to his and tapped the back of his hand with her finger, and Jack's hand smoothly slipped around hers. He squeezed gently and Elsa's heart lurched nicely in her chest.

Some time later, Elsa found herself being nudged awake by a miffed Jack. "You wanted to watch _that_ and then let me suffer through it by myself?" Jack scoffed, and Elsa realized he was saying it with mock annoyance.

"I'm sure you enjoyed it," she teased blearily, eyes squinted slightly since they were still puffy from her earlier crying. Jack rolled his eyes.

"'Til what part did you get to?"

Elsa took a moment to think. "I think it's the one where she was singing on the stairwell?"

Jack looked at her, brows furrowed and eyes wide. "What movie were you watching?"

Elsa paused. "Wait." She burst out into guffaws. "Oh _gosh_—whoops! Wrong movie!"

Jack chuckled and shook his head. Elsa then noticed her head was resting on Jack's shoulder and she snapped up so hard something in her neck cracked. She coughed, blushing. "Sorry," she apologized, and Jack furrowed his brows at her, lips curling at the edges.

"Why? I was perfectly comfortable," he teased, and Elsa chuckled as she rubbed her eye. The credits rolled on the screen of his laptop and Elsa's eyes dragged around Jack's room. His room was filled with wooden furniture, just like the living room, from his dresser to his desk. A shelf of books and games rested underneath a television set with a console and—

"You play the guitar?" she asked and Jack followed her gaze.

"Yeah. Wait, I'll go get it." He stepped off the bed for a moment to retrieve the instrument and nestled back where he sat next to her.

"How long have you been playing?" she asked Jack and he shrugged, experimentally plucking a few strings.

"No clue—five, six years?" His fingers danced over the neck and strummed a tune Elsa recognized. She hummed along. "Do you sing?" he asked out of the blue, stopping his strumming and Elsa felt her cheeks heat up.

"Um, yeah, kind of."

Jack smirked. "What do you mean, 'yeah kind of'?"

Elsa shrugged. "Well—" The sharp trill of a phone ring cut through the air. Elsa fished out her phone from her pocket and smiled at Jack apologetically. "Hello?"

"_Elsa, sorry, am I bugging you?"_

Elsa flashed her eyes to Jack. "Not… really."

"_Oh—are you busy? Wait, oh my G—YOU'RE WITH JACK, AREN'T YOU."_ Elsa pulled her ear away from her phone and winced. Jack laughed. _"I KNEW IT! PUT ME ON SPEAKER!"_

"Okay, okay—wait." Elsa pressed the SPEAKER button. "Okay, you're on speaker."

"Hi, Anna," Jack greeted.

"_Hi, Jack!"_ the redhead on the other line greeted jovially, and Elsa shook her head.

"Did you need something, Anna?"

"_Yeah, I—wait."_ After a moment's paused, Anna laughed nervously. _"I forgot."_

Elsa sighed. "Well, just call me when—"

"Hold on," Jack said into the receiver, "Anna, can your sister sing?"

Anna cackled on the other line while Elsa looked absolutely mortified. _"Can she sing? I think you mean _can she sing_! She's amazing!"_

"Thanks, Anna, that's all I needed to know."

"OKAY BYE, ANNA," Elsa all but yelled, pressed the END CALL button and threw her phone on the bed. She covered her face in shame. Jack laughed and let go of his guitar, gingerly holding her wrists and pulling them away from her face.

"Hey, it's okay." He tried to console her but really his snickering wasn't helping anybody.

"That was embarrassing."

"It was cute," Jack supplied, and Elsa glared at him through the spaces between her fingers. Jack let go and positioned his hands on the guitar again.

"I would have told you," Elsa mumbled, voice muffled by her palms. "But that was beyond mortifying."

"It's not a big deal." Elsa merely whimpered. Jack waited until she put down her hands before he looked her straight in the eye. "Hey, sing for me."

The blonde girl swallowed. "Um."

He flashed her a gentle smile and continued to strum his earlier tune. "Come on, Elsa," he coaxed, and Elsa shot him a shy, tentative smile before opening her mouth to sing.

As much as Elsa liked to sing, she didn't exactly want to show off, so she kept her voice light and airy. It was more of proving to Jack that she could actually sing than anything else, but he seemed to be satisfied with it. "That was beautiful," he said sincerely, making Elsa blush.

"Thanks," she said timidly. "Do you know anything else?"

"Some," he said, before he grinned mischievously. "Wanna play a game?"

Elsa blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, let's play who knows more songs," he suggested, "I can play the song and you sing along. If you don't know, I get a point."

Elsa was about to nod before she flashed him a beyond bewildered expression. "What? Then I'm always going to lose!" Jack laughed.

"Exactly."

Elsa scowled. "Then I'm not playing."

Jack laughed. "Okay, fine—let's just see how many songs you know. Up for it?" he said, positioning his fingers over. Elsa shook her head in disbelief.

"Fine, but can you at least go with songs that aren't obscure and underground ones?" Jack chuckled. He strummed and plucked a few chords, rhythmically tapping on this guitar as he did.

"This one good?" he asked, and Elsa nodded.

"_Just a castaway_," sang Elsa, "_An island lost at sea_…"

Jack grinned and kept playing, transitioning into other songs smoothly and Elsa sang along, snapping her fingers as she went. They finished with a few laughs and Jack wore a grin on his face, his eyes so wide and she could swear they almost sparkled. "You're amazing," he said after a moment of silence.

Elsa laughed, cheeks tinged with pink. "I don't—"

"I mean that," he said, voice heavy with sincerity. "I mean it."

"Thank you," she said earnestly.

Jack smiled and continued. "You're just… you're amazing. I really think you are. Even if—even if life sucks for you, you should know that—" He took a deep breath and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'm here. Okay? When… when things go wrong, I'm right here. When you have an attack, when you can't sleep at night, when you're bored—I'm here, Elsa. It's okay to open up to me. Granted I may be biased right now, but it doesn't change the fact that you're my friend and you matter to me. Okay?" His eyes bore into hers and Elsa couldn't do anything but nod. Jack smiled, leaned over and pecked her on the cheek before standing to put back his guitar.

"You hungry?" he asked casually. He turned to see Elsa staring at him, lip caught between her teeth. "What?" She shook her head and walked over to him. She slipped her hand into his, a gesture that was more of a gesture of thanks than anything.

"Thank you, Jack," she murmured softly, leaning on his arm.

"You're welcome." She felt him lean his head on hers and they stood there in comfortable silence.

* * *

Jack, Elsa discovered over the course of their friendship, had a natural talent for anything that related to food. Just because she knew about it earlier didn't mean that it didn't fascinate her.

He had a knack in the kitchen, definitely—he would even link her to recipes or photos of food that he would say he'd try to replicate at home. He even commented that one time after her birthday that the usual pastry she ordered at the coffee shop was easy to make—literally "a piece of cake" (his pun, not hers), and said that he would definitely make one for her.

She watched as he expertly maneuvered around the kitchen and whipped up some pasta. Idle conversation settled amidst them but she was genuinely more interested in the way he practically danced in the kitchen. She smiled and affirmed that no, she wasn't vegetarian, and yes, spaghetti was more than fine for dinner.

Minutes later, Jack slid a plate of finely made spaghetti in front of her along with a glass of water and the scent filled her nostrils pleasantly. "This smells amazing," she said sincerely, and Jack turned the same shade of red as the sauce that was smothered all over her pasta.

"I'm really not all that great," he tried, and his face crumpled. Elsa tried to fight down a smile at the sudden change of expression.

"What?"

"Humility doesn't taste very nice in my mouth," he admitted rather sheepishly, and she laughed.

"You're awfully cockier now that we're dating," she teased, but it was more of an observation than anything. A few weeks after they started seeing each other exclusively, he started becoming more playful, teasing, and basically everything that would have made Elsa scamper off in embarrassment.

But she learned to deal with it. She even asked Tooth about it and discovered that Yes, Jack's just really playful and if anything, he trusts you!

"Yeah, but you like it," he shot back, and Elsa just fed herself some spaghetti and looked away.

After a dinner filled with casual conversation, Jack got up and went over to the fridge. "Is vanilla okay with you?"

She nodded and realized that he couldn't see her. "Yes, please."

"Awesome." He grabbed two spoons and two bowls and set it on the table.

"Thanks," she said, earnestly digging into the ice cream. Jack flashed her a teasing smile.

"Of course, you're going to owe me for all this," he said, gesturing to the table, and Elsa practically threw the spoon, vanilla and all, back into the tub in mock indignation. He burst into laughter. "I'm kidding!"

When Jack's guffaws died down and Elsa still made no move to retrieve the ice cream, he sighed and scooped it into her bowl for her. He slid it to her and she caught it expertly.

"Thanks!" she beamed, and Jack rolled his eyes.

"You're awfully demanding now that we've started dating," he mocked.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you like it."

Jack chose to simply shove some ice cream into his mouth to punctuate his silence.

* * *

_**to be continued**_


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm gonna make a playlist for this one day.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 8_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

Jack flashed Elsa a wide grin when she stepped into the coffee shop one late afternoon. Edmund whistled from next to him.

"Damn," he said under his breath, "Frost's got it _bad_." Elsa blushed.

"Um," was all the could muster, while Jack whacked Edmund's arm with a clipboard menu.

"_Dude_," Jack whined, but the smile couldn't slip from his face. Edmund walked into the back room, still flashing sly looks at the two.

Once the redhead was gone, Jack turned back to her. "Hi."

"Hi." Elsa pulled out her wallet and Jack shook his head.

"I can pay—"

"Really, Jack," Elsa said sternly, but she was fighting off a grin. "You've paid for me the last two times I was here. You're going to get fired for this." She pulled out a bill and Jack rolled his eyes as he reached for it.

"I was _trying_ to be a gentleman."

"And I'm _trying_ to not get you fired."

"How touching," Jack mocked, handing over her change. Elsa rolled her eyes and put the few coins in the tip box.

"Those are for Edmund," she said pointedly, "_Not_ you."

Jack resorted to mockingly mimic her words, making Elsa snort. He slid away with a teasing grin to prepare her order. She smiled as she watched Jack move, preparing her drink and—

"Hi, Elsa!" Elsa started and turned, giving a huge sigh.

"Tooth! You scared me."

"Oops, sorry," Tooth said, not looking very sorry at all.

Elsa noticed she wasn't in her usual uniform. "Day off?"

Tooth shrugged. "Kind of." She rounded the food case and slipped on an apron. "Okay, Jack. I'm here."

"Thanks, Tooth," Jack called, suddenly without an apron and rounding the counter with Elsa's order in hand. "Hi," he said, walking over to her and lead her to the couches.

Elsa smiled, taking a seat. "Your shift's over?"

"Yep," Jack said, sitting next to her. He plucked the straw out of its paper casing and popped in the plastic cup. "I was thinking maybe we can hang out. If you want to, that is."

"Of course I want to," Elsa said without thinking, and her hand went up to her mouth and she blushed a deep scarlet. "Oh gosh, I didn't—"

"If you take that back, you're going to hurt my feelings." Jack pouted and laughed when Elsa blushed harder.

"Shut up," Elsa said weakly, shoving him lightly.

He grinned and reached for the hand over her mouth, intertwining their fingers and kissing the back of her hand. She tingled, feeling sadder than expected when he let go.

"We should go out," Jack said, and Elsa smiled.

"Sounds good," Elsa said. "Where to?"

"I was thinking maybe we could take a drive, maybe to—" Jack paused when he felt Elsa's hands grow cold. He looked her straight in the eye and his own widened when he saw her pale. "Elsa, oh my—"

"Don't," was all she could say, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. She leaned forward and put her face in her hands.

"Elsa, are you okay?" Jack asked after a moment. Elsa nodded.

"Yeah." She took another deep breath and reached for his hand. Jack didn't hesitate to latch on. "Sorry. I'm just…" she trailed off. Jack placed another kiss upon her fingers.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, genuinely apologetic. "I wasn't thinking. I didn't realize—"

"It's okay," she said, patting the hand holding hers. "It's okay. I'm fine. No big deal."

Jack's brow furrowed. "_Very_ big deal, Elsa. You can't let this take over your life."

"Not much I can do about it," Elsa said with a shrug, and Jack sighed. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I can help," he said earnestly, and Elsa laughed, bitter.

"Everyone says they can help, Jack," she said, letting go of his hand and turning to her food. "They just don't know how."

* * *

Idina and Elsa rarely ate lunch together—the only time they would only really interact is at night when they're both at the room—but Idina had texted Elsa that her noon class had been cancelled and asked if Elsa had anyone to eat lunch with.

Not long after, Elsa found herself in the Joyce Hall cafeteria with her roommate trying to stuff half of the burger she ordered into her mouth.

"That's gross," the blonde grimaced.

Idina rolled her eyes and swallowed. "And that's not food," she sneered at Elsa's salad.

Elsa frowned and stood up. She briefly left and bought a serving of pasta, practically slamming the tray on the table in retaliation as she sat down. "There, happy?"

The dark-haired girl seemed pleased. "You never eat enough. You already look like a twig."

"I'm not always hungry."

"Bah!" Idina barked, sharply flinging her hand as a dismissal and accidentally flinging a dollop of ketchup into the air. Elsa dodged it frightfully.

"Watch it!" she cried, and Idina took a bite of her burger. Elsa rolled her eyes and stabbed into her salad.

"Elsa!" she heard suddenly. Searching for the source of the voice, she found Jack sitting with his friends. She waved at him and turned back to Idina, whose eyes were wide and had a smirk on her face. For someone who was previously eating a burger, she was suspiciously neat.

"What?" Elsa asked, and the former's smirk grew wider.

"Nothing."

"Elsa!" she heard again, but this time closer, and soon Jack was sliding to sit next to her on the bench with enough momentum to just slightly bump into her. Her stomach coiled pleasantly.

"Hi, Jack," she greeted, and motioned to her roommate. "Oh, Jack—this is Idina, my roommate."

"Nice to meet you," Jack said, extending a hand. Idina raised a suspiciously clean hand (for someone who flung dollops of ketchup at unsuspecting friends while eating) and shook his.

"He's cuter up close," the dark-haired girl said, and Elsa flushed even more.

Jack laughed heartily. "It's _very_ nice to meet you."

"Don't inflate his already huge ego," Elsa gibed good-naturedly, and Jack ceased his chuckling to shoot her a sour look.

"_Hey_!"

"It's true, you know."

"It is not. I'll have you know I am _not_ egotistic." Jack huffed and folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, says the guy who totally shows off in the kitchen," Elsa retorted, and continued in a much deeper voice, "_'Watch me flip this, Elsa!'_ Or, _'You know, a lot of people can't do this, Elsa, but I can!'_"

Jack shoved her lightly in the shoulder with an incredulous laugh. "I do _not_ say that!" He turned to Idina. "Don't believe her—she's lying."

Idina just laughed and shook her head. "Whatever. Anyway, I have class in a bit, so I'll just go."

"Bye," Elsa said in between laughs, and Jack shoved her again.

"It was nice to meet you," Jack said, and Idina waved before gathering her things and leaving the cafeteria. He turned to Elsa and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi." She smiled back.

"I haven't seen you in a while."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You saw me last week. And the week before that. Remember?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "We're _dating_, Elsa."

She flashed him a confused expressed. "So?"

"I'm going to pretend that didn't hurt," Jack said flatly. Elsa was ready to launch into an apology, but the corner of his mouth was twisted into a smirk. He stood up and picked up her food tray. "Come on."

She blinked. "What?"

"Sit with me and my friends," he said, and she looked over to find a bunch of people waving at them. One of them was Hiccup.

"Uh," she said dumbly, heart rate kicking up. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

Jack took hold of her hand and squeezed. Elsa blushed, not because of lack of familiarity—she welcomed his touches, in fact, and Jack was plenty affectionate to her, from holding hands to kissing her cheek—but because he wasn't openly affectionate in _public_. She realized belatedly that they really didn't have any chance to be together amidst other people, and the thought heightened her nerves. "Come on, Elsa. You can do this."

"I'm not very good with people," she said, voice small.

"Yes, you are. You're fine." He gave her hand another squeeze. "Please. For me?"

She wasn't convinced, not really, but then he looked at her with these _eyes_ that made Elsa pout because this was so _unfair_, he shouldn't have that kind of secret weapon he could use against her. "Fine," she conceded, and Jack smiled brightly.

"All right, come on," he coaxed, balancing the tray with one hand and tugging Elsa's hand with the other.

"Okay," she squeaked, picking up her belongings and following suit.

"Guys," he announced when they had crossed the cafeteria, "Meet Elsa." He gestured to them one by one. "This is Flynn, his girlfriend Rapunzel, Merida, Volleyball Queen Astrid Hofferson and our resident fishbone, Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup scowled and tossed a wet tissue in Jack's direction, who dodged it seamlessly. The blonde boy set down Elsa's food and motioned for her to sit.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey," the others greeted.

"So she's real," Astrid said, and Jack glared at the blonde.

"_Yes_, she's real," Jack sneered. "Told you I wasn't making her up."

"You definitely weren't, Frost." The tall, older-looking brunet Jack had introduced as Flynn looked at her coyly. "Hel-_lo_," he said smoothly, "I'm Flynn, and it's nice to meet you."

Elsa stared at him incredulously. "Uh, what are you doing with your face?"

Flynn's expression fell comically and Jack and Hiccup crowed. "Man!" Flynn whined, flinging his arms around, "Why isn't it _working_?"

"Uh…" Elsa shrugged helplessly.

Rapunzel, a bubbly-looking brunette, giggled. "Don't worry—he tries this with almost every girl he meets."

"Tries what?"

"He calls it the Smolder," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "He claims it can get any girl to fall for him."

"Doesn't he already have a girlfriend?" Elsa asked, obviously still confused.

"He does," Merida said, a thick accent playing in her words. Her hair was all bright red and curly, freely tossing around as she laughed heartily. "But he's convinced he's dashing to women of all types."

"Ah, Elsa said, at the same time Flynn whined, "I am!"

Jack cackled. "Sure, man. Whatever."

"I really am!" Flynn moped now, and his girlfriend pinched his cheeks.

"Aww, Eugene," Rapunzel cooed, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend, and Merida laughed harder.

"_Eugene_!" the redhead cackled, and Flynn twitched before charging at the girl. Merida taunted the man, but Rapunzel held him back with—was that a frying pan?

"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup said on the other side of the table, balancing a fry on his nose, "Watch this!"

The blonde in question burst out into guffaws when Hiccup managed to inhale half the fry into his nostril. "You are such an idiot, Hiccup."

Elsa turned to Jack, whose face crumpled into utter embarrassment. "I am so sorry I brought you over here. They're usually more tame than this."

"Oh, really?" Elsa laughed.

Jack sighed, dismayed. "No. They're always like this."

Elsa laughed louder. "It's okay. I like your friends."

He flashed her a hopeful look. "Yeah?"

"She likes us!" Merida cried, hearing Elsa's comment above the noise, and the entire table broke into applause. The redhead grinned and pointed at Jack's face, self-satisfied. "_Told_ you!"

"She's just saying that to be nice," Jack fired at Merida.

Astrid snorted. "She must be if she's putting up with you." Elsa broke out into laughter.

"_What_?" Jack looked scandalized. "Of course she's not!"

Elsa was too busy laughing to defend him.

Jack cried out, as if in pain. "Elsa, what are you doing? Say something!"

"I—I'm—" Elsa wiped a tear. "Sorry."

Astrid grinned. "I like her already."

"Ooh," Hiccup sang, "This is getting interesting!"

"Shut up, Haddock," Jack snapped, and Elsa calmed down.

"So are you all in Jack's class?"

"Nope," Rapunzel answered, "Flynn's a junior, and Hiccup and Astrid are sophomores. Jack and I are freshmen."

"So how'd you get to know each other?" Elsa said conversationally.

"Hiccup and Merida are cousins," Jack explained, pointing to the two in question. "I've known Hiccup some time ago, and he and Astrid have known each other since birth."

"We're also together," Hiccup said proudly, as if a guy like him could never get a girl like Astrid. The blonde in question flushed and punched him in the arm hard enough that the scuff was audible. "_Ow_!" the brunet cried out, "Why'd you hit me? _You're_ the one that calls me 'babe!'"

"Flynn's my roommate," Jack said over Hiccup's moans of pain and Astrid's berating. "And he and Rapunzel have known each other since high school."

"So, you're a psychology major?" Merida asked.

Elsa nodded. "Yeah, I take psychology and minor in philosophy."

"Cool," Hiccup said. "Why psychology?"

"Oh—" Jack started, but Elsa spoke.

"Well, I decided that taking up psychology would be best to help my sister," she admitted. "We lost our parents when we were younger."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Astrid said earnestly.

Elsa smiled. "It's okay."

"I know how you feel," Hiccup consoled, and Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Hiccup, your parents aren't dead," she snapped.

The brunet looked offended. "But my _leg_ is gone! It's like the same thing. Essentially."

"Hiccup, that was five years ago and you got a pet out of it, so really—"

"Astrid, stop trying to ruin my dramatic flair."

"Really, Hiccup, I always knew you were theatrical but I never pegged you to be—"

"OH, LEG CRACKS NOW? REALLY? GO ON, ASTRID. RIP MY HEART MY HEART OUT OF MY CHEST AND RIP IT IN TWO WHILE YOU'RE AT IT."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic."

"There you go again, ruining my flair! Really, if you want this relationship to work—"

Merida hooted so hard she snorted, effectively cutting Hiccup off. "Oh, oh, I got a good one! Did you hear about the guy whose left leg was cut off? He's _all right_ now!"

The entire table broke into laughter. "I got one," Flynn said, "Astrid, when Hiccup first lost his leg, did he tell you he had a _crutch_ on you?"

Elsa felt bad for laughing, but when Hiccup said, "Really, guys? You're not even giving me a leg to stand on here," she knew it was all friendly banter.

Merida almost fell back from her chair from laughing so hard. "I—Oh, God, I'm—"

"I got another one!" Flynn said proudly, raising his hand in the air.

"Shut up, _Eugene_," Hiccup snarled, and Merida wailed.

"I can't—it hurts—" the redhead cried, clutching at her stomach while Flynn burned with embarrassment.

"It's a second name!" he cried, and Rapunzel fussed over him.

Elsa looked at Jack, who was torn between laughing and severing ties with his friends. She caught his gaze and flashed him a smile. He merely shook his head, threaded his fingers through hers, hands intertwining under the table, and her stomach dipped again.

* * *

Out of all the people that asked her to get in a car, she had to admit that Jack was the most persuasive. In a non-kidnapping way, of course.

"Come on, Elsa! You've already sat with my friends. How bad is it to sit in my car?" Jack voiced, and Elsa thought he sounded almost… offended that she didn't want to sit in his car? She shook her head.

"No," she said resolutely, trying not to laugh at his kicked puppy expression.

"But _Elsaaaaa_," he whined, flinging his arms around like a child, "How am I supposed to take you out on a proper date if I can't _drive_ you to it?"

He had tried to get her to ride in his car for over two months now—well, no, not really; he'd been hinting about wanting to drive her around for a while now ("You know, you could just let me drive you to your dorm, Elsa, it's really not a problem—" "Jack." "Okay, no driving. But mark my words, Elsa. One day. _One day_." She had rolled her eyes then and walked out his front door, and then Jack came clambering after her to walk her to the bus stop.) He had texted her with a subtle '_what time should I pick u up_?' and she'd replied that she would just meet him there, _ha_, which somehow prompted Jack to call her and coax her into agreeing that that they drive.

Elsa's breath had hitched then, and it must have been audible because Jack started apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said, and Elsa had shaken her head.

"No, it's not you—I'm just…" she'd trailed off, and Jack understood.

But that didn't mean he would stop trying.

She scowled at him. "The bus is perfectly fine." She wasn't as sensitive to the topic anymore, as Jack brought it up often enough for her to handle herself and not shirk away like she used to (unlike the first time when he mentioned it to her and she nearly slipped into another anxiety attack, she remembered with a wince), but now it graduated from scary to just plain irritating.

Jack stomped his foot and Elsa squeezed her eyes in embarrassment. They were in the middle of the coffee shop where Jack worked, and some patrons were staring at them. Even Tooth and Bunny looked like they were being thoroughly entertained from the counter.

"I don't know you," she said finally, glaring at him. She turned on her heel and walked out, the bell above the door tinkling sharply when she yanked it open. Jack chased after her and when she slipped out the door, Jack stopped her.

"Elsa—" he tried again.

She scowled. "You know how I feel about cars."

"I—" Jack sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. Bus. But I swear, I'm helping you get over this thing."

Elsa felt her heart lurch affectionately. They talked about her fear of cars that stemmed from the Accident, and Jack took it upon himself to ease off her phobias.

Jack had been talking, Elsa realized belatedly. "—and if we have to make out at the back of a sedan just to get rid of this, then I'm perfectly willing to do it," he said determinedly, and Elsa blinked before blushing.

"W-_What_—" Elsa's heart started hammering in her chest. They haven't even so far as actually, legitimately _kiss_, and Jack was insinuating that—

Jack burst into laughter and Elsa glared at him. "Oh, _ha ha_. Very funny."

"You should have seen your face," he said in between laughs. Elsa soured and walked away. "Hey! Okay, okay," he cried, catching up to her before she got very far. "Sorry."

Elsa said nothing and raised an eyebrow.

Jack sighed. "Fine. Bus. And I'm paying for your dinner."

Elsa smiled. "All right. Friday?"

"Friday." He leaned in and pecked her cheek, making Elsa blush. "Where are you headed?"

"Dormitories," Elsa said, trying her best to will her blush away. "I have to catch up on some homework."

"You don't want to work here where you can see me?" he teased, and Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Bye, Jack," she said, and Jack leaned in again to place another chaste kiss on her cheek.

"Bye, Elsa," he called when she had walked in the direction of the bus stop. "I'll see you soon!"

* * *

Friday rolled around peacefully and for all of Jack's complaining about wanting to drive Elsa to "date-worthy places" (Jack's words), they merely ended up at a quaint seafood restaurant near Burgess Brew that Jack suggested she try. The giant sign _Atlantica_ was lit up, hard to miss.

The interior was a sandy shade of cream accented with blues and greens and shells that held wall lamps. It was fairly full, patrons conversing animatedly. Jack and Elsa slipped into a booth with plush teal couches.

A bubbly redhead approached them in an instant and handed them menus. "Hi, welcome to Atlantica! How may I—" Her blue eyes widened when she saw Jack. "Jack, hey!"

"Hey, Ariel," he greeted back. "How's it going?"

"I'm good, I'm good," she replied. She looked back at Elsa, who stopped flipping through her menu. "Who's this?"

Elsa smiled and extended a hand, introducing herself. She was taken aback by the sheer amount of joy that vibrated up her arm when Ariel shook her head, making Jack laugh.

"Oooh, a date, huh?" Ariel teased to Jack, who blushed.

"Shut up."

Ariel giggled. "It's nice to meet you, Elsa," she said earnestly, "Now what'll you be having?"

"Get the seafood lasagna," Jack suggested animatedly across from Elsa and the waitress nodded with a huge smile on her face.

"It's really good! It's one of our bestsellers," Ariel added, nodding way too much for Elsa to find particularly comfortable, but she was good-natured and seemed naturally enthusiastic.

"It is," Jack supplied, "I'm trying to copy it but so far it's not working."

Ariel turned to Jack with a playful frown. "Jack, give up already."

"Never!" he said playfully, shaking a fist in the air. Elsa laughed.

"All right, I'll take your word for it. One seafood lasagna please," Elsa said to Ariel, "And I'll just have some water."

"And the shrimp scampi linguine," Jack said, taking their menus and handing them over. "And a Coke."

"Got it," the redhead said, beaming and taking the menus. "I'll be right back with your order!"

"Thanks, Ariel," Jack said. Elsa turned to him when Ariel walked back to the counter.

"You're here a lot, I'm guessing?"

Jack shrugged. "Hiccup's cousin Merida—the one with the curly read hair, remember her? Yeah, that Merida—she had a party here once, and the food was so good I came back at least thrice a week for a month trying to get the lasagna down. I basically made friends with all the staff."

Elsa chuckled. "So is running around and finding restaurants to copy food from a hobby of yours?"

"Depends on how good the food is. But yeah, it is."

Soon enough, Ariel came out with their dinner and nudged Jack playfully before leaving. The boy rolled his eyes and smirked at a blushing Elsa.

"You're really red," he commented. Elsa gave an uncharacteristic snort.

"No, _really_?" she said, words bathed in sarcasm, and Jack cackled.

Dinner was spent immersed in conversation about almost anything and everything and they were finishing up (well, Elsa was finishing up while Jack was long since done with his meal) when Elsa found Jack staring at her.

"What?" she asked, and Jack shook his head.

"Nothing."

She frowned. "What?"

"_Nothing_."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That… that _thing_ where you tell me it's nothing but there's something telling me that no, it's _something_. I can tell. I can tell it's something."

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his platinum hair. "I—I'm going to sound like an asshole, but I think about you. A lot."

Elsa blushed. "Oh, well—"

"I'm going to move on right away because it's getting really awkward," he announced suddenly, and Elsa nodded stiffly.

"Good idea."

"Okay, so I was thinking about what you told me. About your… parents." Jack watched Elsa carefully. "Are you… I mean, not really okay, but… I worry about you. Sometimes. All the time."

"Everyone worries about me," Elsa said, almost bitter, but her face was sad.

"We mean well," Jack said soothingly, reaching over to cover her hand with his. "I do, at least." It shot a pleasurable spark up Elsa's arm and down straight to her belly, where it exploded.

"Thanks," she whispered, and Jack's thumb caressed the back of her hand.

"You miss them a lot," he said, tone laced with sympathy, and Elsa nodded.

"A lot. So much." She took a deep breath and Jack squeezed.

"Do you… want to visit them?" Elsa stiffened and Jack lifted his hold on her hand. "What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

Elsa shook her head. "I didn't—I never…" She sighed. "I never visited their graves." The word sent a sharp stab to her chest. "I set everything up but… I just stayed at home. Never left my room. I—I couldn't. I couldn't."

Jack stood up and walked over to her, sitting down on her side of the booth and taking her hand in his. "It's okay, it's okay."

She tried to reign in her rapidly escalating dread. "I'm such a coward."

"You're not," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm soothingly. "It's okay. You're not."

The words tumbled out of Elsa's mouth before she could think. "I guess I thought that—that maybe out of sight, out of mind, you know? Like if I never saw the real thing, that everything was still okay." Elsa squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so pathetic."

"You're not," Jack protested fiercely, voice low and soothing. "We deal with things in different ways. You're _not_ pathetic. You're strong. You're so far from pathetic, Elsa." He kept murmuring words of comfort and reassurance and Elsa's chest warmed nicely. She leaned into his shoulder, and soon he was embracing her.

"Thank you," she whispered, and Jack kissed her forehead.

"You're strong," he said again. "And you're going to get through this. I believe in you."

Elsa's heart staggered at his words. "Thank you," she whispered again, and soon she was crying on his shoulder, his murmurs low and soothing, loud and clear amidst the noisy restaurant.

When she had calmed down and the tears had dried from her cheeks (thankfully, Ariel said nothing), Jack had ordered dessert—the Chocolate Pearl, they called it, which was a giant scoop of chocolate ice cream coated with chocolate shell syrup served on a shell-shaped waffle cone that served as a bowl. Elsa's eyes widened and Ariel giggled.

"Enjoy, you two," was all she said before leaving.

Moments after they dug into the ice cream, Jack nudged her shoulder and spoke. "Hey."

Elsa looked at him.

"What do you call an ice cream instructor?"

Her brow furrowed and shook her head.

Jack tossed her a sly look. "A _sundae_ school teacher." Elsa scowled and Jack's face crumpled into an expression similar to that of a kicked puppy. "Oh, come on!"

"Wow, Jack," Elsa said slowly, "You really _milked_ that one."

Jack stared at her before erupting into a flurry of snorts and chuckles. Elsa burst into guffaws moments later, and before long she was wiping a tear of mirth out of the corner of her eye.

"That was a good one," Jack said, his chuckles quieting.

"Thanks. Yours could use a _lick_ of humor."

Elsa started laughing again when Jack scowled. "Okay, you can stop now."

"Really, Jack, you're getting _creamed _here—"

"Elsa, shut up." Jack crossed his arms over his chest and sulked while Elsa laughed like a maniac next to him. Ariel passed by and shot Jack a curious glance. "Don't ask," Jack huffed, not taking his eyes off of Elsa.

Ariel shrugged and walked on by.

* * *

**_to be continued_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning: Mentions of blood and suicide and murder (kind of?), but not in the way you think. I think.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 9_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

Elsa's first interaction with Jack's friends—namely Hiccup—without Jack's presence to mediate came faster than she expected.

"Anna, turn that off," Elsa groaned, flopping on her sister's bed while the redhead was on the computer.

"I thought you liked One Direction."

"They're _okay_, but right now, they're becoming increasingly annoying because my equally annoying sister is playing _the same song_ for _the tenth time_."

"Oh," Anna said sheepishly, a series of clicks following her words. "Oops, sorry, I didn't realize it was on repeat."

Elsa shot her sister a blank look. "Seriously?"

"I like them a lot, okay?" Anna groused, unable to pick another song. Elsa stood up and walked over, hovering over Anna as she scrolled through her music library.

The blonde frowned. "Do you have anything else except pop music and Top 40?"

"You mean if I have anything you like?" Anna quipped. She pulled up a playlist named STUFF ELSA LISTENS TO THAT I KINDA LIKE TOO. "Ta da!"

"What's that?"

"We almost never listen to the same music, so I have a special playlist just for bonding occasions like these."

"How thoughtful."

"Thanks!" Anna looked particularly pleased with herself.

Elsa's eyes scanned through the list and her finger darted to point at a track. "That one." The redhead clicked and a mellow rhythm wafted from the speakers. At the same time, Elsa's phone rang. "Oh, sorry—hold on."

Anna paused and muted the song while Elsa checked the caller ID. An unknown number brightened up at her. Her brow furrowed and she picked up.

"Hello?"

"_Elsa, hey! It's Hiccup."_

"Oh! Hey, Hiccup. How'd you get my number?" She paused and mentally smacked herself. Jack, _duh_. "Wait, never mind, I know the answer to that one. Anyway, why'd you call?"

_"Well—oh, sorry, are you busy?"_

Elsa glanced at Anna. "No, not really. What's up?"

"_Well, I just wanted your help with something, 'cause it's for Jack. And you'd be perfect for it. Anyway, it's Jack's birthday in a week and we're all planning something for him."_

"It is?" It bothered Elsa that she and Jack have known each other for a while but the concept of birthdays completely slipped her mind. She shook her head. "Sorry. Yeah, sure, I'll help out. What do you need?"

"_No, ah, it's more of a 'can you show up to distract him' request. You know, send the girlfriend to do the dirty work and all that."_

A warmth spread in Elsa's chest when she heard it. Girlfriend? Was that how Jack's friends saw her? Not that it was a bad thing, necessarily, but it she and Jack never really… talked about it. Up until now, Elsa always thought that they were just "dating exclusively." Did that mean something else…?

She flushed with slight shame. Did this mean that Jack was serious about her this whole time? She just took it in stride. Elsa groaned.

"_Elsa?"_ Hiccup's voice broke her reverie.

"Ah, yes, sorry. What was that?"

"_Well, we were planning this thing—more specifically, Astrid and I were thinking of planning this thing for Jack but then Punzie joined in and said, 'We should totally throw him a party,' and yeah, she's right, so me and the others are gonna throw him a surprise dinner at his place."_

_Oh_. It clicked into place. "And while you guys are setting up, you want me to distract him."

"_Yes, that is exactly what we want you to do." _Hiccup laughed from the other end. _"How'd a guy like Jack snag a girl as sharp as you?"_

Elsa laughed, trying to hide her blush. She changed the subject. "Okay, that's not a problem."

"_Really? Great! I, of course, will be your main contact person throughout this whole ordeal, so on Jack's birthday, keep an eye on your phone. Oh, and change my name."_

Her brow furrowed. Change his name? "What?"

"_So Jack doesn't get suspicious as to why I keep texting you."_

"Oh!" Elsa exclaimed, impressed. "That's pretty brilliant."

Hiccup sounded pleased._ "I do try. Oh—hey, I gotta go, Astrid's here. Thanks, Elsa! I'll let you know how it's gonna work."_

"No problem, Hiccup." When Elsa hung up, Anna swung her chair around and stared at her older sister expectantly.

"What was that about?" the redhead inquired.

"Jack's birthday. They want me to be the distraction while they all prepare a dinner at his house."

Anna clapped her hands excitedly and grinned mischievously. "Oh, girlfriend duties. I see." A look of discomfort passed over Elsa's face, so brief that it was almost impossibly to notice, but Anna caught it. She sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

The younger of the two sighed, like she was used to Elsa's stubbornness. She was. "Elsa, out with it."

Elsa made a noise and flopped on the bed. "This whole _girlfriend_ business."

"What?" asked Anna, incredulous, "What do you mean this 'whole girlfriend business?'"

Elsa sat up and huffed. "Well, Jack and I—we never really talked about it."

"You haven't _DTR'd_?" Anna gasped.

The older girl shot her a disbelieving look. "Haven't _what_?"

"You haven't defined the relationship!" The redhead cried, half-shocked and half-appalled, flinging herself out of her chair and next to Elsa on the bed. "_Elsa_! Why not?"

"It never really comes up," Elsa admitted, and Anna gave her sister a look that screamed, '_Oh, Elsa, you naïve virgin_.' The blonde glared at her sister. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Look at you like what?"

"Like _that_!" Elsa cried, gesturing to her sister. "Like—Like I don't know what I'm doing."

"Well, do you?"

After a moment of silence, Elsa dropped back down on the bed. "No," she admitted. Anna shook her head and smiled down at her.

"Hey, it's okay. It's your first relationship." Anna patted Elsa's elbow affectionately. "But you and Jack have to talk about this. It's mandatory boundary setting. What do you guys do?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, what do you do? Hold hands, kiss, make out, have se—"

"_Anna_!" Elsa cried, mortified.

Anna gave her sister a blank stare. "Really, Els. This whole 'virgin' thing is getting old."

"I am older than you."

"And I am still more experienced." Anna flushed suddenly and Elsa shot up from the bed. "Wait, I didn't mean—"

"Please tell me it was Kristoff," Elsa begged, and Anna blinked.

"I—What?"

"If I have to be okay with _anyone_ having sex with my sister, I'd much prefer it to be Kristoff," Elsa declared, "So, please," she pleaded, "_please_ tell me it was Kristoff."

Anna looked away, cheeks still burning. "Um, yeah," she admitted, "It was Kristoff."

The blonde gave a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I thought it was to that Hans guy."

Anna's face crumpled in disgust. "_Ew_. No. Don't even go there."

"Well, you very much into him, last I recall—"

"_Don't _change the subject," Anna said sternly. "So what do you do?"

It was Elsa's turn to blush. "Well, we hold hands."

"Uh huh. And?"

"We kiss on the cheek."

"What else?"

Elsa scratched her cheek. "And… well, that's about it."

Anna's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "That's _it_? You can't be serious."

"Why not?"

"Jack is really into you, Els," Anna said, disbelieving. "Wow, I knew he liked you but he might actually… _love_ you."

The older girl scowled. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not! It's just, well, sweet. Unbelievably sweet." Anna starts ticking things off with her fingers. "For one, he's going at your own pace. Even Kristoff had to open up the idea of se—"

"Don't," Elsa said, squeezing her eyes briefly.

"Whoops, sorry. Okay, fine—Kristoff talked to me about stuff we should… try together, I guess." She paused and shook her head. "You seriously haven't even _kissed_? Like on the lips?"

Elsa shook her head, almost shamefully. "Nope."

"And he never tried?"

"No." Elsa thought for a moment. "Well, he probably did. I really wouldn't know. But the first time he kissed my cheek, he asked if he could."

"Keep him," Anna asserted, "You _have_ to keep this guy. Put him on a leash if you have to. Never let him go."

"He's not a pet," Elsa snapped, and Anna made a longing noise.

"Yeah, but he's a keeper," the redhead shot back. "Really, Elsa. Talk to him. Talk about your relationship with him. He'll be glad you're opening it up. Especially the, you know, intimate stuff."

Elsa flushed. "How do you know that?"

"You'll know when you do."

"Why are you being so cryptic?" Elsa grumbled.

Anna smiled. "Relationships are more fun when you have to figure it out. It gives you something to do."

Elsa shook her head and laughed. "I can't believe I'm getting relationship advice from my younger sister."

"Of course." Anna beamed, proud. "Who else did you think you were going to get it from?"

* * *

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Jack. See you later." Elsa stared blankly when she pressed the END CALL button, and Idina jumped when Elsa dropped her phone suddenly.

"What—"

"He wants me to meet his family," Elsa said in one breath, making her stomach lurch uncomfortably.

"He wants you to meet his family?" It was obvious from her bright eyes and teasing smirk that Idina was excited for Elsa.

Elsa, on the other hand, felt like vomiting.

The blonde who was sitting on her bed bolted to her closet and started shoving things aside—she was picking out an outfit to wear for tonight now and normally she wouldn't care but now she _does_ because he said he wanted her to meet his family, for God's sake—

"He wants me to his family," she affirmed, and she felt her palms get sweaty. "Oh, God. I'm meeting his _family_—I'm meeting—"

"Relax, Elsa," Idina said, from her spot on her bed, putting her laptop aside and crawled over to sit on the edge. "This is a _good_ thing."

"He—okay, he didn't say I'd meet them tonight, he said we'd talk about it but—oh God, Idina, I can't handle myself around _regular_ people! How am I supposed to handle myself in front of _Jack's family_? I can't even act normal around _mine_!"

"Be yourself…?" Idina shook her head. "Relax. I'm sure he's going to give you a tutorial. Kind of how it went down in the Parent Trap." Elsa shot her a blank look and Idina shrugged. "I've never been serious enough to meet anyone's parents, so don't look at me."

Elsa's phone _ping!_-ed and she picked it up immediately.

_**From:**__ Jack_

_Meet u in Atlantica in 30? :)_

Elsa hastily thumbed in a reply, backspacing several times to remove errors that her jerking thumbs made.

_**To:**__ Jack_

_Yes See you there -:)_

Idina stood up and placed her hands on Elsa's shoulders. "Calm down." She snorted when she peeked at Elsa's phone. "Your smiley has a bindi."

"_What_?" Elsa cried frantically, frightened blue eyes darting to her phone screen, and Idina plucked the blonde's phone out of her twitching fingers.

"Relax, Elsa," Idina soothed, "Now go get dressed and get your ass into Jack's waiting arms." She paused. "Or hands."

Elsa was too dismayed about the bindi to come up with a retort.

* * *

Elsa found Jack in a booth and walked over. "Hi," she greeted and slipped into the seat opposite to his. The place was quiet this evening—maybe because it was nearing half past nine.

If he noticed that her smiley had a bindi, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he smiled at her, but it looked morose. "Hey. I ordered for you, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all. I trust your taste in food," she teased, but stopped when his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. She sobered and reached out for his hand. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and slipped his hand into hers. "I'm… I really want you to meet my family." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, struggling with his words. "But…" He sighed again, but this time it was more exasperated. "I don't know. I'm—"

"If your family is—" she began, but quieted when Jack shook his head and squeezed her hand.

"No, no! It's not them. It's me."

Elsa waited for him to continue.

"I… Look, life—oh, thanks, Sebastian," Jack paused and let the server set down their food. When the waiter left, he continued, "It wasn't… easy. For me. I wasn't always like this.

"My, um—I used to live with my mom. And my dad and my sister. It was just us—just us four, and we were happy. Until my sister—" his voice hitched slightly and Elsa moved to stand up, but he shook his head. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway," he continued, "We were okay. But, one day, my sister… my sister, she got into this accident. I was eight, then, and she was six, and we were playing around in the garage and our dad was telling us _No, no don't play there_—and at—at first we didn't get it. We were kids, we didn't really care about anything else except playing, but I listened to my dad and we played out in the lawn instead of the garage." He took a breath. "I went inside for a bit, to get some water for me and my sister when suddenly something crashed. Something loud and heavy.

"We went outside and suddenly my—my sister's arm was under this large metal thing. Apparently she tipped over the stand of a car engine my dad was working on."

Jack's usually bright blue eyes were dull and glassy, and Elsa's lip trembled. She moved quickly, sitting next to him and interlacing their fingers. She waited.

"Her arm… it was crushed," he whispered, voice far away, "We rushed to the hospital but she was—she was bleeding so much and my dad was yelling, screaming at me. _How could you leave your sister_?" he said vehemently, hand gripping Elsa's, "_How could you leave her alone_? And I was crying, I was crying because I was eight years old, I was fucking _eight years old_ and I _killed my sister_."

Her eyes stung with tears taking Jack's stiff, trembling hand in both of hers. "She bled to death," he continued, "She died shortly after they made it to the hospital. And everything—every day I just hated everything. I never left my room. I didn't eat. I didn't do anything.

"After my sister's… funeral," Jack forced out, obviously struggling with the words, "my parents would fight. For the next month, they would fight and fight and fight and scream at each other and never stop. My dad would scream things—things about me, about my sister and how everything was my fault. I just cried. I just cried and cried and cried until I couldn't hear anything anymore. Until one night, I heard something break and the door slam.

"I never heard anything break before. It never got that bad, never. So I went downstairs and found my mom sobbing. She was crying really hard, and then she saw me, and then she ran and hugged me and said, _I'm never leaving you, Jack, I love you_."

"Your dad left," Elsa murmured, and Jack nodded absently.

"He left," he whispered, so low that Elsa had to strain to hear it. "He left me and my mom. Because I killed my sister." Elsa shivered at his bitter laugh. "I was fucking eight years old and _I killed my sister_."

Elsa was quiet, wanting to tell him that _No, Jack, it's not your fault_, but she knew it was fruitless. She knew how it felt to be told that _No, it wasn't your fault, it was an accident_—she knows how it feels like to hear those words. She knows how it feels like to have something be your fault. No amount of convincing could ever change your mind.

So instead, she listened to his breathing, eyes scanning the restaurant. The place was almost empty by now. "Do you want to talk about this somewhere else?" she asked him tenderly, and he nodded.

"Please," he whispered, and Elsa flagged down a waiter and had their food, which had long gone cold, to-go. Soon, they were out on the sidewalk.

"Where do you want to go?"

"My car isn't far from here," Jack said almost absently, but paused when Elsa stiffened. "Hey, I'm sorry—"

"No, it's okay," she said, willing herself to calm down. "It's fine. We can… we can head to your car."

"Are you sure?"

Elsa nodded and waited for him to lead the way. Her heart hammered in her chest. Jack was staring intently at her when she stopped in front of a grey sedan.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and Elsa nodded.

"I haven't been in a car in a while."

"Since the Accident?"

"Yeah."

After a long minute, Jack said, "You don't have to do this."

Elsa shook her head. "I'll be fine. I can do this." Jack opened the door for her and she willed herself to edge into the passenger seat. He closed the door gently and jogged to the other side of the car, slipping into the driver's seat.

They were quiet.

"You must hate this," Jack murmured out of the blue, and Elsa took his hand in hers and knitted their fingers together. She looked him in the eye.

"It's not that bad," she murmured back, and even if she initially said that just to please Jack, she felt herself believe them. "I just… I want to help you. Whenever you need me—need _anyone_, I want to be there." She smiled at him. "Like you were for me."

Elsa felt her eyes sting with tears at the _look_ Jack gave her. He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. "Thank you," he said solemnly, and she felt her heart warm pleasurably.

Jack simply closed his eyes and pressed her hand to his face, his skin warming hers.

And for a while, she just sat there in a car, because Jack needed her. She watched the streetlights flicker in the distance and the cars that passed them by. She watched people on the sidewalk. She waited for Jack to be comfortable again.

He pulled her hand down and spoke again after minutes, or hours—Elsa couldn't tell.

"After the whole… incident," he said, voice low, "It was just me and my mom for a while, but she would throw herself into her work. Sometimes she'd come home so late that I'd be asleep or leave so early that I had to make myself my own breakfast. I was on my own.

"I wasn't very good on my own," he confessed, "I… I wasn't a good kid. I got into a lot of shit."

"What kind?"

Jack shrugged. "Fights." He laughed bitterly. "Imagine me at fifteen years old, getting into a fight. People would bet on me. Most would bet against me. But I was smaller than most of them, faster—I had an advantage. I won a lot of those fights."

Elsa frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Some scars. But what really got me was the theft." He shook his head. "I stole a lot back then. My mom—you know, she was barely home, so I had to fend for myself. In all the wrong ways. I would steal from convenience stores, sometimes from people at the bus stops.

"And then I got caught. I didn't—it was stupid, what I did, because I thought I was on top of the fucking world and nothing could touch me, and the store owner, he saw my face. He identified me immediately and I went to juvi.

"I didn't give a shit. If I met fifteen-year-old me, I would give him a clear slap across the face." Jack's free hand curled into a rough, trembling fist. "I _hated_ it. I hated every damn second of it, Elsa. Everything fucking _sucked_. I was under a restitution order for three weeks, working at the store for an hour every weekday. But then one Friday, I came home and my mom's car was home.

"I was happy. I was _ecstatic_, I thought I could see my mom again. I could _talk_ to her again. Tell her about my day and shit like that—you know." Jack squeezed his eyes and Elsa jumped when he punched the side of his steering wheel. "I thought everything was going to be _okay_."

"It wasn't… was it?" she asked, and Jack shook his head.

"My mom was passed out on the floor with a bottle of sleeping pills."

Elsa gasped, her free hand covering her mouth. "Oh, God, is she—"

"She's fine," Jack said, absently caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. "She's okay. She was still breathing when I found her, and I called an ambulance in time."

"Jack," Elsa murmured as a form of comfort, looking at their joint hands.

"But I just—I decided that enough was enough. I had a record, I was failing in school if I even went—which I barely did—and my mom tried to _kill_ herself. That was more than enough.

"I set my life straight. Finished my restitution order, went back to school and cleaned up my act. I was a freshman back then. I fixed my life. Studied day and night until my grades were impeccable. Looked for a part time job. Got a hobby. Went with my mom to her therapist. I wanted to fix myself. I wanted to be _okay_.

"It was doing me good. It was doing my mom good. We talked and talked and just… we promised not to let what happened happen again. She met a coworker who was smitten with her since before, and when he heard about what had happened, he was _all_ over her. He had a kid then, Jamie, and whenever he would come over, he'd bring Jamie along. He was good to her and soon they got married. Then out popped little Sophie. She's four now."

Elsa smiled, absently reminding the blonde little girl she'd seen him with quite a few times.

"I wanted to turn my life around, and I did. I'm in college—which I never thought would happen, honestly, I have a job… I'm better now. But sometimes, I think of Ellie…" he trailed off.

"You feel like you're back to square one," she finished for him, and he looked at her. His eyes were weary, visible even in the dim light. And she understood.

"Yeah," he whispered.

"I get it." Elsa looked at their hands. "I get it, all of it." She looked back up at him. "You're gonna be okay."

"Thanks," he told her, eyes flitting to her lips briefly. "Elsa, I…" Jack shook his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she whispered, locking eyes with him again. His eyes were so bright, so clear and so _alive_, it was hard to think that they ever carried storms.

"Elsa, thank you," he said again but it was in this _voice_, and it made Elsa shiver.

"You're welcome." Her heart rate kicked up as he stared at her stared at her with these _eyes_ that held so much in them, and she felt herself wanting more than anything to find out what he was thinking right now.

"I mean it," he said firmly, "You don't know how much this means to me. I never—I never got to talk about it with anyone—"

"I'm sure someone was willing to listen," she responded.

"I didn't know if I _wanted_ them to listen." He squeezed his eyes shut and kissed the back of her hand again. "So thank you. _Thank you_, Elsa."

He was trying to tell her something else, she knew it. But she didn't say anything.

After a moment, Jack pulled away and laughed. It a soft sound that was joyful and free and contagious, which made Elsa laugh with him. "We should get you home," he said.

He inserted the key and Elsa panicked, all traces of relief gone. "Jack, no, I can just—"

"Elsa, it's almost one in the morning," he said when the dashboard lights came to life. "Let me drive you."

"No, Jack, it's—"

"Elsa." He turned to her and looked her straight in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

"Jack—"

"Do you trust me?" he repeated, and Elsa nodded hesitantly. "Then trust me to drive you home safely."

"All right," she said after a moment, and Jack smiled. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

She clicked in her seatbelt at his reminder, and as soon as he turned on the engine, he placed the gear into DRIVE and he took her hand in his.

Jack drove smoothly, the one AM streets devoid of anything, and before long they made it in front of her dorm. He shut the engine and looked at her.

"How are you feeling?" Elsa snapped out of her trance and looked at him—really looked at him, and noticed lines of worry on his brow and a shadow of concern over his eyes. She noticed a tinge of regret playing along his features, like he shouldn't have made her stay.

She realized that she was glad he did.

Elsa smiled. "I'm okay."

* * *

_**to be continued**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Before anything else, THANK YOU for the lovely reviews! Ah, it keeps my heart warm. Sorry for not replying (real life is usually stressful despite unemployment), but I do read every single one of them.**

* * *

**RECOVER**  
_chapter 10_

by Pseudonym P

* * *

"_Elsa, hey!"_ Anna greeted over the speaker of Elsa's phone. Idina was gone for the evening, so the blonde didn't worry about bothering anyone with the noise. The older girl pulled out a nice white dress she deemed worthy enough to wear for tonight.

"Hi, Anna. What's up?"

"_Just checking in."_ Elsa laid her dress on her bed and fished out a nice pair of sandals from the bottom of her closet. _"What are you doing?"_

"Picking out an outfit." Elsa pulled out a box of accessories from her desk and picked out a necklace. No, not this one. She set it aside and continued her search.

"_Ooh, what for?"_

Elsa plucked out a nice colorful bib necklace from the box. "Huh? Oh, I'm having dinner with Jack's family tonight."

"_WHAT?_" Anna's sudden shriek rendered Elsa shocked enough to drop the necklace. "_YOU'RE HAVING DINNER WITH JACK'S FAMILY?_"

"Anna, not so loud! You're on speaker." Elsa picked up the fallen accessory and placed it next to the dress.

"_Why didn't you tell me this?"_ Anna wailed, voice lowering. _"This is very important information!"_

"I just—It slipped my mind, I guess." Elsa paused. "Actually, no. He asked me around a week after you and I talked." Excusable, the blonde decided.

"_Elsa, you know what this _means, _right?_"

The blonde stared at her phone. "Um… no?"

"_You are so clueless!"_ Anna cried out helplessly. _"It means he's_ really _serious about you! It's a fact now, no longer a speculation!"_

Elsa flushed, feeling both irate and embarrassed. Embarrassed won by a hair. "Oh, um. Well—"

"_Wear something nice, okay? Wait, who am I kidding, of course you're going to wear something nice. What are you wearing?"_ Elsa recounted the details of her outfit choice and Anna squealed. "_Okay, you're going to look_ hot."

"Thanks. I think."

"_Talk to him, okay?" _Anna pleaded. "Promise _me you'll talk to him before you meet his parents_."

"I'll try my best," Elsa promised.

"_Good. Parents have a strange way of judging their kids' significant others, and I want you and Jack to last. Okay? DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO LAST. For me. PLEASE."_

Elsa shook her head and laughed softly. "Thanks for your support, Anna."

"_What are little sisters for?"_

Shortly after Elsa hung up and got dressed, her phone rang again. _Jack_, her phone flashed this time.

"_I'm downstairs,"_ he said as soon as she picked up.

"On my way." Elsa grabbed her purse and practically sprinted to the elevator. The door to the passenger seat was open when she got to Jack's car. He was leaning next to it, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"You look beautiful," he said earnestly, walking towards her and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. Elsa flushed.

"Thank you." She eyed his crisp white shirt and dress pants. "You clean up good, Frost."

Jack beamed. "I try." They got into the car and soon, they were on their way to Jack's house.

Silence settled comfortably over them, but Elsa's mind refused to let go of Anna's words. "Hey," she said, and Jack glanced at her before looking back at the road.

"Hey," he replied, and Elsa smiled.

"I wanted to… talk to you."

"What about?"

Elsa opened her mouth and then shook her head. "I feel like this is a bad conversation to have before I meet your family."

"Honestly, I think they already love you," he confessed, "I mean, they always ask about you."

"They know about me?" Elsa asked disbelievingly.

Jack shrugged, leaving one hand on the wheel and the other to take her hand in his. "Of course they do. All I ever talk about is you." He grinned in her direction, slightly sheepish. It was painfully adorable.

"Wow, no pressure or anything," Elsa said sarcastically, and Jack laughed.

"Don't worry about it." He knitted their fingers together and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Elsa started, eyes on their interlaced fingers, "I wanted to talk about… us."

"Us?" Jack repeated, letting go of Elsa's hand briefly to make a turn. Her hand felt strangely cold.

"Yeah, us." Elsa waited for him to stop at the intersection before continuing. "What are we?"

"Ah," Jack joked, "You want to know what you're going to say to my mom."

"No!" Elsa flushed. "Okay, yes. Maybe."

The stoplight turned green, and the car steadily moved forward. "Well, honestly… whatever you think we are, I'm okay with that."

She frowned lightly. "That doesn't help."

"Oh?" he said absently, turning at a corner. "Sorry."

"I just… I don't know. I feel kind of bad. We don't have a label, and I'm sure that bothers you."

Jack shot her an amused glance as they drove along the streets of a residential area. "It doesn't bother me at all. Like I said, I'm cool with whatever you say."

"Are you letting me control this relationship?" Elsa peered curiously at him.

"So it's a relationship, then?" Jack inquired, and Elsa blushed.

"Ah, um—" He laughed at Elsa's stammers.

"Look," Jack said, pulling over. He killed the engine and faced her, taking both her hands in his. "Really, whatever you say goes. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me."

"I don't," Elsa insisted. "But isn't a relationship a two-way street? Like, me and you? You and me? That sort of thing."

"All on your own pace," he said.

"But why?"

Jack flushed and rubbed his thumbs at the backs of her hands. "I really like you," he admitted, and Elsa's heart beat a little harder, "I don't want to scare you away. With the shit that I've done and been through…" he sighed, "I just feel like enough is enough, you know? A lot of people have gotten shit from me, even if they didn't deserve it. You don't deserve to be on that list, Elsa. I…" He gave another sigh. "This is going to be the worst thing to talk about."

Elsa's brow furrowed. "What is?"

"Exes."

"Ex—oh. _Oh._" Elsa pressed her lips together to fight off a smile. "I'm fine with it."

"Yeah?" Jack shot back, raising an eyebrow. "Then you first."

"Okay." Elsa pretended to think. "I have none."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, sure—" Jack paused and gave her an incredulous expression. "Wait. Are you serious?" Elsa simply shrugged. He shook his head and ran his free hand over his face. "Shit, Elsa. You've never dated? _Why_?"

"No one asked me, really," Elsa said with another shrug, and Jack leaned over to press his forehead to her shoulder.

"Holy shit," Jack voiced, more to himself than to her, and he pulled away and squeezed her hand tighter. "I mean—holy _shit_."

Elsa laughed nervously. "What?"

"But you're so _hot_," Jack blurted, and Elsa hacked out a laugh that was more painfully mortified than amused.

"_Seriously_?"

"No—agh, no, sorry—" Jack groaned and pressed his forehead to the back of her hand. "Sorry. Sorry! I'm just—I thought—damn, I mean, I honestly thought I had a lot of competition with you." Elsa raised an eyebrow in offense, and Jack quickly backtracked. "I don't mean that the way it sounded. I mean—you're beautiful. Guys are bound to come flocking to your doorstep." Jack paused. "Do guys come flocking to your doorstep?"

"Nope."

"Wow. Um—wow." Jack took a deep breath. "Whoa. That changes things."

"Jack," Elsa deadpanned, "There is literally no way for you to make this situation better by speaking."

The younger boy smacked his mouth. "Shit, I'm so sorry. I'm just—crap. You've never dated?"

The blond girl shook her head. "Never."

He breathed out a laugh. "Damn. _Damn_. I feel so _lucky_."

Elsa chucked nervously. After a moment, she spoke. "You know… I like dating you."

Jack's eyes glimmered. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Elsa bit her lip. "I like seeing you all the time. I like talking to you. I like you. I really like being with you."

"Me, too." Jack squeezed her hands lightly.

"You seem scared," Elsa observed, and Jack laughed.

"Guilty."

"Why?"

"If it's not already obvious, then fine," he started, "I'll say it. I like you. A lot." He ran a hand through his pale hair. "I… I was a fucked up kid. Remember what I told you?"

Memories from her night out (and her first car ride in a while) floated along her thoughts briefly. She nodded.

"I wasn't in anything steady. I never really dated, didn't really care." He looked straight into her eyes and spoke sincerely, "And now I do. I care about you. And I don't want to screw this up."

"You won't," she murmured lowly, and Jack gave her an appreciative stare.

"Thank you," he said, kissing her fingers. Silence enveloped them comfortably.

Elsa simply smiled.

"Am I your first boyfriend?" he asked after a while, voice so small it was like he was ashamed to ask.

Elsa nodded shyly. "Yeah."

He smiled warmly. "I'm honored."

"Am I…" she began, and Jack sighed.

"No," he admitted, and Elsa felt herself deflate. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize."

"I know, but I'm doing it anyway." Jack sighed. "I've dated, a few before. Like… two. Or three. And I never felt… comfortable with them. They never lasted because of the shit I've done to them and to myself, for all the crap I put them through. I've never felt the way I do with you—and I'm—I just—Elsa. _Elsa_."

"It's okay," she said, meaning it. He didn't owe her a thing, so why would she get upset about whether or not he dated before her?

Something that sounded strangely similar to Anna's voice popped inside her head to say something like "not only dating," but Elsa cut it off when she started to flush.

Jack laughed tiredly. "I don't want to do the same to you. I don't want to scare you _away_."

Elsa chose not to answer, instead opting to squeeze his hand as a form of comfort. He flashed her an grateful glance.

"We good?" Jack asked after a long moment.

"Yes, we're good," she said, and Jack smiled, looking completely energized.

"Awesome, 'cause we're here." Elsa felt herself stiffen as she remembered the situation. Jack placed his hand on her elbow affectionately. "You'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," she muttered, and Jack leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"I _know_ I'm right. Now come on, I promised to have you here by six or else my mom's going to show you baby photos of me."

* * *

Dinner went off without a hitch. Jack had introduced his family to Elsa and vice versa, and Jack's mother whisked her away to the living room to show the girl Jack's toddler photos.

(Jack, on the other hand, was vehemently protesting, crying out, "Mom, we had a _deal_—you said Elsa had to be here by six o'clock sharp and it's only ten minutes to six and—Mom, not the brace-face days—MOM, _I'M BEGGING YOU_—" while Elsa laughed until her sides hurt.)

Jack's stepfather had laughed at the sulking boy and told him to go finish setting the table, and soon two kids ran into the living room, introducing themselves in a series of almost unintelligible syllables until Jack did the honor of speaking in coherent sentences and pulled them away to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

The dinner itself was filled with conversation and friendly banter, making fun of Jack, talking about school, making fun of Jack, getting to know Elsa, making fun of Jack, getting to know Jack's family, and making fun of Jack. Soon, dessert had been splayed out ("Spanish flan," Jack had said proudly, bringing out a platter that had quite a hefty serving on it; Elsa was about to ask why, but Jamie shoveled a quarter of the flan unto his plate and she said nothing).

Much to her dismay—she was having a lot of fun with Jack's family, especially when Jamie had challenged her and Jack to a dancing game on their family console, which she had won with ease ("You cheated!" Jack had cried, and Elsa retorted with a snarky, "Yeah sure, tell that to the girl who's wearing a _dress_.")—she had to leave.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Frost," Elsa said sincerely, shaking their hands.

Jack's mother pulled her in for a hug. "Oh, nonsense. If you make my Jack smile like that, you're always welcome here."

Elsa flushed, laughing nervously. "_Mom_," Jack groaned.

The older woman pulled away and smiled coyly, choosing not to say anything more

"You're leaving already?" someone cried, and a thirteen-year-old boy came out into the foyer, glaring at Jack. "You better bring her back, Jack!"

"All up to Elsa, little man," Jack said, approaching Jamie and ruffling his hair.

"I'd love to come back," Elsa said, beaming. Soon, a little blonde girl ran up to her and clutched at her legs.

"Pretty Elsa!" she wailed, and Elsa giggled, embarrassed.

"I'll miss you, too, Sophie." The older girl patted Sophie's head.

Sophie sniffled. "Come back, please?"

"I will, I promise." The words left Elsa's mouth before she could think about it.

"Well, it's getting late," Jack announced, and the family had backed off accordingly. "I'll see you guys later."

"Take care driving, son," Jack's stepfather said.

"Will do." Jack opened the door for Elsa. With one last goodbye, they walked towards his car.

"Your family's a lot of fun," she said, more as a statement of fact than a commentary.

Jack smiled. "You looked like you had a lot of fun."

"I did." Jack opened the passenger door and closed it when Elsa slipped inside. He jogged to the driver's seat and got in, but didn't start the car.

He turned to her, and his blue gaze caught her own. "Thank you."

"I think it's me who should be thanking you," Elsa supposed, a laugh in her words. Jack reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed her fingers tenderly, and Elsa watched.

He closed his eyes and murmured against the back of her hand. "You were amazing tonight. My family likes you."

"I like them, too." He pulled her hand away and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"I like that." Jack briefly let go and started the engine and set the gear, and shortly they were on their way back to Elsa's dormitory.

"Thanks," she said finally, clicking off her seatbelt and turning to Jack.

He beamed at her. "You're welcome. Now, go get some sleep. I'll see you soon."

"Hey, Jack," she said suddenly, pressed her lips together. In a sharp tug of courage, she leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. When she pulled away, Jack was staring at her. "What?"

"I—never mind," he said, shaking his head, hands still on the wheel. His cheeks burned in the dim light.

Elsa tugged at his shirtsleeve. "Tell me."

"It's gonna sound weird," Jack groused, not looking at her.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Or it's going to sound normal." She patted his arm. "Just tell me."

"I like it when you kiss me," he said, so low that Elsa had to strain to hear it. But she did, and her stomach twisted with such intensity that she thought she might squeal. She flushed and Jack groaned. "See, it sounded weird—"

"It doesn't," Elsa insisted, "It doesn't. It sounds… reasonable."

"Yeah," Jack retorted, "Reasonably _weird_."

She smacked his arm lightly. "Quiet."

Jack chuckled lowly and looked at her, taking his hands off the steering wheel and automatically gravitated towards hers. "I like you. You know that."

"Yeah," she whispered, fingers warm under his touch.

"And I—I really don't want to screw this up," he admitted. "I don't—I'm not—ah, shit," he swore, "I'm not good at this stuff."

"You can do it," she encouraged.

Jack smiled and shook his head. "God, Elsa. I don't think you understand what you're capable of."

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"We'll talk about this soon enough," he told her gently, and cupped her cheek in his hand. He moved closer and kissed her forehead.

"Why can't we talk about it now?" she said, slightly embarrassed that she was whining, but Jack pulled away.

"Because I have to come up with a better speech to declare my affections," he said resolutely. Elsa snorted despite her blush.

"I just don't find it fair that you… I don't know, you're so open about your feelings and I… I can barely share mine," she said, voice softening at the last part.

He smiled understandingly. "I don't mind."

"I do," Elsa protested.

"It's okay," he soothed, "It's not a race."

"But I still think it's unfair."

Jack laughed. "We'll talk about it," he insisted, kissing the back of her hand. "Go sleep. I'll text you in the morning."

Elsa nodded and turned to leave, but turned back quickly to kiss his cheek again.

"Good night, Jack," she said, moving her face to hover over his. Time slowed down and her heart beat loud that she was afraid he might hear it. Just one move, one move and he could kiss her—

"Good night, Elsa," he whispered, blue eyes cloudy with something she couldn't place. His warm breath lingered on her skin, and for a moment Elsa's breath hitched in her throat, but he pulled away. Elsa smiled, expelling a breathy laugh.

"You could've," she said softly.

Jack glanced at her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe next time, then," he teased.

Elsa rolled her eyes, trying to keep her expression composed despite the blood rushing in her ears, her heavy heartbeats and fluttering stomach. "Promise?"

His grin was goofy and contagious. "I promise."

The look on Jack's face was beyond shocked.

* * *

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_" Elsa screamed with the rest, past the confetti and cheers. Jack gaped and turned to Elsa, eyes wide.

"You—" Jack said, and Hiccup came out of nowhere, slipping in between the two and slinging an arm on each of their shoulders.

"I really got the right woman for the job, didn't I?" Hiccup beamed, and Elsa laughed. "You totally didn't see it coming!"

Two days ago, Hiccup had texted Elsa (under the name Henry, the alias to which the blonde saved him as on her phone) the plan for Jack's dinner. _Distract him by three in the afternoon and just make sure he gets home by seven_. Easy. All Elsa had to do was say that she wanted to eat and Jack just picked her up and they went on a food trip. Funnily enough, she was still hungry for dinner.

"It was really too easy," Elsa said, and the redhead boy winked before leaving, muttering something about checking on the roast because Astrid can't cook to save her life.

"You helped with this?" Jack said, and she turned back to face him. There was a glint in his eyes.

"Happy birthday," she said with a smile, and Jack leaned in for a hug.

"Thanks," he whispered. She held on tighter when he kissed her hair.

The party was small—just a few of Jack's friends and coworkers, including his own family. She was introduced to cousin Sandy, who wasn't really a cousin, but more of a family friend.

"Sandy," the stout blonde man had said, extending his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you," Elsa had replied, returning the gesture. Jack's mother had slipped in to gesture with her hands, and Elsa gaped. She turned back to Sandy to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea—"

The small man shook his shoulders in a gesture of laughing and waved his hands. "He's been deaf since birth," Jack's mother had explained, "But he can lip read and he's been practicing his own name enough that the accent isn't muddled."

"That's amazing," Elsa said earnestly, and Sandy laughed again before gesturing to the table.

After a great dinner, they all gathered in the living room and booted the game console. Elsa sat on the couch with Jack's arm around her, and the rest of the guests littered around the room while Jack's parents and Sandy resigned themselves to finish cleaning up.

"Jack!" someone called, and Jamie ran in with his older brother's guitar. "Play something!"

"Aw, Jamie—" Jack started to disagree, but his friends and coworkers were already hollering for him to play.

"Come on," Edmund egged on, "You know you want to, you bloody show-pony."

Tooth laughed, sitting next to him on the armrest of the couch. "Yeah, Jack. You _are_ kind of a show off."

"Do it!" Hiccup encouraged from his armchair. Astrid clapped from his lap.

Jack laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine, fine." His friends cheered and he gratefully took the guitar from Jamie, slipping from the couch to sit on the floor. Elsa followed to curl up next to him.

"Go, Jack," Elsa said with a smile, and Jack paused.

"I'll play only if Elsa sings with me," he blurted, and Elsa froze. Jack's friends voiced out words of encouragement, but the blonde could feel her heart rate pick up.

"Jack, no—" she whispered urgently but he latched onto her hand that was staring to turn cold.

"You can do it," he replied just as softly and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. "It's just me."

"And a bunch of _other_ _people_."

Jack laughed, breathy and warm against her cheek. "Just us."

Elsa gave him a nervous smile and he kissed her cheek again, letting go of her hand and going back to strumming his guitar.

"You know this?" he asked her after he plucked and strummed to a rhythm, and she smiled.

"_Beauty queen of only eighteen, she had some trouble with herself_," she began, and the entire room was silent as the two harmonized with their music. When the song was over, everyone broke out into applause and Elsa laughed, cheeks red. She buried her face into Jack's shoulder.

"You were soooo good, Elsa!" Rapunzel gushed from her spot the couch, and Elsa gave the girl a timid smile.

"Thanks."

"How'd Jack score a girl like you?" Hiccup joked, and the punch Astrid landed on his bicep made a noise.

"Babe, don't be _rude_."

Jack laughed and glanced over at a still blushing Elsa. Their eyes met and he grinned. "I actually have no idea." He turned back to the group. "Any more songs?"

The group erupted into a flurry of suggestions and Elsa laughed, feeling her nerves ebb away.

Jack had driven her to her dorm after the whole ordeal, which lasted quite late. They arrived at her building a quarter past one in the morning.

He shut off the engine and got out of the car, jogging to the other side and opening the car door for Elsa. She chuckled. "Highly unnecessary."

"Oh, it's actually very necessary." He shut the door behind her and pushed her back against the car, encircling his arms around her waist and pressing his face against the space where her shoulder met her neck. "Thank you for tonight." His voice was muffled and warm and it made Elsa… feel things.

Before she could properly register anything, he was pulling away and the blonde felt oddly cold. Like something was missing.

"No problem," she said finally, and Jack smiled crookedly at her.

"I'll see you soon?" he asked, "I've got a fun date planned."

She laughed. "Okay. Text me when." He pressed a swift kiss to his cheek and squeezed her hand, which she returned gratefully.

"Good night," he said. She returned the gesture and got into his car, and Elsa waved as he drove off.

* * *

When Jack had said a "fun date," she already expected a movie night or a cooking lesson, sometimes even just sitting around at Burgess Brew on a slow day or stolen glances when it was full. She expected a day with his friends, or even a study date, surrounded by psych facts and puns and laughter, littered with cake and non-caffeinated smoothie blends. She expected time with him, just hanging out, like they always did.

She definitely did _not_ expect to be in the middle of nowhere, an hour away from the city.

The trip going was fun, filled with music and sing-alongs and jokes and conversation that she always enjoyed with him, but when Jack shut off the engine after they ended up in the field a ways away from the road, Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously, and Jack grinned wickedly.

"Maybe I'm finally going to have my way with you," he said, and she would've blushed at his words, but his voice was tiny and nasally and it made her laugh.

"Yeah, right. Your mom would kill you if anything happened to me."

Jack groused. "Can you stop reminding me how much she likes you more than she likes me?"

"Nope," Elsa said, popping the _p_. She looked around the clearing. "But really, what are you planning?"

"Well," Jack said, caution hinting at his voice, and Elsa turned to look at him with interest.

"'Well,' what?"

"I'm glad you're over your fear of cars," he went on, "I really am. So, I guessed—I don't know. Maybe it's time to fully get over them."

Elsa's stomach twisted, and not in the usual pleasant way it did when she was around Jack. "Jack, what are you saying?"

"I wanted to teach you how to drive," he said carefully, looking at everything else but her.

Elsa's breath hitched in her throat. "_What_?!"

"Hear me out first," he said, looking straight at her and raised his hands in defense. "I thought maybe this would be good for you."

"_No_!" she protested vehemently. "I'm not going to drive!"

"Elsa, you can't keep hiding from cars forever—you're going to have to learn." Jack was composed, as if this situation was completely sensible.

For some reason, his calmness irritated her further. "Jack, I said no—"

Jack frowned. "Elsa, I'm just trying to help."

"Seriously? And who are you to say that?"

"Elsa, really? This happened years ago. I'm just helping you get over it!" he said, brimming with frustration. As soon as the words left his mouth, Jack looked immediately regretful. "Elsa—shit. Elsa, I'm so sorry." He reached for her hand in grasped it.

Elsa could scream, his harsh words echoing in her brain sharply. She felt her skin bristle as she hardened at his words. How—how _dare_ he? He knew how she felt about this, about all of this, and still he would _say_ that? He wasn't helping her in the least! She curled her fists and shook her head.

"I don't need your help!" she snapped, eyes narrowed and snatching her hand away. Her heart was soaring and she felt herself bristle, her emotions rapidly escalating.

"Elsa, please—"

"I said _no_," Elsa snarled this time, tone harsh and biting, cruel even to her own ears. Jack's expression flashed from a guilty frown to utterly emotionless so quickly that she instantly stopped. He was just trying to help, she reasoned. She let her emotions get the best of her. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"No, I pushed too hard." He replied distantly, keeping his eyes off her. "Sorry. We don't have to if you don't want to."

"Jack," she started, a string of apologies ready to pour from her lips, but the fact that he didn't even _look_ at her rendered her unable to continue. Instead, she looked down at her lap. Jack started the car and drove her back, and the silence was more deafening than ever.

* * *

_**to be continued**_

* * *

_Announcement: We're almost to the end of this story! Yaaaay. To all my readers, thank you for sticking around. I think I've got two more chapters to go, plus an epilogue. And maybe a series of post-fic oneshots? It all depends. Either way, __I hope you all enjoy the journey so far, and that I'd like to thank you all again. Maybe you'd like to leave me a review to tell me what you think will happen next? I know left you with a pretty shitty cliffhanger, I know—but I'm still interested!_

_Updates will come kind of slowly now, since I've posted all my pre-written chapters and have to hammer out the next few from scratch. I hope you all understand. Rest assured, I'll still be doing my best. _

_Trivia is found under the __**'recover trivia' tag of my tumblr (notkorras)**__ if you'd like to check that out!_


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